Strata and community schemes case study

Unless an owner or occupier has the written permission of the owners corporation, they must not hang laundry that may be seen from the outside of the building.  An owners corporation may seek a penalty order from the CTTT against a resident for such a breach of the by-laws.

At the annual general meeting of a large multi-million dollar apartment block, the issue of one resident hanging their washing on their balcony was raised.  Proof of the breach of the by-law was provided and a decision was made by the owners corporation to issue the resident with a formal notice to comply with the strata plan’s by-laws.

Some months later at an executive committee meeting, it was resolved to lodge an application with the CTTT as the resident had not complied with the notice.  The application sought an order that a penalty be imposed on the resident. 

At the hearing, only the owners corporation appeared.  It presented photographic evidence of a breach of the by-law after the date of the notice, together with evidence of numerous requests to the resident after the notice date asking them to stop hanging the washing on the balcony.

The Tribunal Member was satisfied that the resident had been served with the Notice to Comply and that the application had been lodged within the 12 month timeframe to ask to renew proceedings.  Based on the evidence, the Tribunal Member found that a penalty should be imposed on the resident to emphasise the necessity of complying with by-laws.  A maximum penalty of $500 was imposed.  The resident was further ordered to pay the applicant’s costs of bringing the application back to the CTTT.