Renovating a strata-titled property in Western Australia

Renovating a strata-titled property in Western Australia comes with its own set of considerations and regulations. Unlike traditional houses, owning a strata-titled property means you share a lot of the features of your home with others. These shared features are considered common property, and depending on your building, this may include the walls, ceilings and floors – making renovations quite an interesting topic.

If you are considering renovations, here are a few steps you should take to ensure you aren’t breaking any bylaws and risking the safety or integrity of your building.

Within a Strata Title Scheme, there are 3 overarching types of building boundaries that can be registered. Each of the below is unique and determines the building lot boundaries of the property in relation to each lot owner.

• Lot Boundary 3(2)a
• Lot Boundary 3(2)b
• Lot Boundary 3AB

This information can be found in your Strata Plan or you can contact your Strata Manager for more information.

Alterations to your property can only be made inside your lot and can not impact common property.

You should always check and provide reasonable notice to the Council of the Strata Company of your renovation plans. ESM Strata have put together a sample document showing the information which you should provide. Some works that you may not believe require approval, may in fact be considered structural or impact on common property, so always check with your Strata Manager.

Some renovations such as structural work or flooring changes may require a resolution without dissent to be passed (depending on the existing by-laws of the complex) at a General Meeting of the Strata Company.

Bathrooms and Kitchens

It is recommended that you check with your Council of the Strata Company before commencing any renovation work on your bathrooms and kitchens. The reason is that on some strata plans, the lot boundary is from the surface of the tile inwards. Therefore, tiles form part of the common property. Any changes to common property may require a resolution without dissent to be passed at a general meeting.

Waterproofing is also a consideration. It’s painted on prior to tiling but it is essential that it is applied professionally, so as to ensure there is no water transfer between lots.

Flooring

This is an excerpt from the SCAWA website:

“Never – repeat, never – install hard flooring in a multi-story strata dwelling without first (a) reviewing the strata development’s by-laws to see if there are any specific rules regarding hard flooring; (b) seeking permission from the owners committee, preferably with a consultants report; and not least (c) ensuring adequate acoustic underlay is installed. (Ideally, more than adequate.)

Many strata owners who have installed hard flooring without following these straightforward steps have found themselves saddled with the expensive burden of having to rip it out after challenges from owners committees and owners living beneath them who have suffered ‘loss of amenity’ due to noise.”

Proceed with your planned works

Once approved, you are free to proceed with your planned works with the comfort of knowing that no one can ever make you remove your upgrades and reinstate to how it was before.

Advise other residents of potential noise

Letting other residents know there may be noise etc. during the renovations will help to maintain the harmony within your complex.

Renovations can sometimes result in accidental damage to common property. Make sure to allocate a portion of your renovation budget for potential repairs or compensation for any damage caused. It is advisable to notify your neighbours and the owners corporation of your planned renovations to minimise conflicts and potential long-term issues.