Damage to common property
Strata and community schemes case study
In a strata scheme, a lot owner owns their own unit, but most external parts of a unit form part of the common property. If the lot owner makes additions or amendments to a lot without approval or consent of the owners corporation, the CTTT may make orders requiring the additions to be removed and the lot returned to its original state.
The owner of a strata scheme lot decided to make some changes to the appearance of his lot. The owner replaced the bathroom window, removed an internal wall and painted the entrance door a different colour. He did not obtain permission from the owners corporation nor local council approval to perform the work prior to undertaking the work.
The owners corporation objected to the changes on the basis that the changes damaged the common property and were not consistent with the appearance of other lots in the scheme. The owners corporation applied to the CTTT for orders requiring the lot owner to return his lot to its original state.
The Adjudicator found the lot owner had damaged and altered the common property by removing the window and changing the colour of the entrance door. Orders were made for the lot owner to restore the original window and repaint the entrance door to the unit. In relation to the removal of the internal wall, the owner was ordered to obtain an engineer's report on the removal of the wall as its removal may have affected the structural integrity of the building.