VIC Common Ground/Exclusive Use/Rights & Obligations.

Hello PC Forum users,

This is my first post and I hope the post is in the relevant section. If anyone could shed any light on my questions I would be most grateful.

I live in a strata where we have some flats (2 story buildings) and other units that are not flats, but share a wall.
The strata was created in 1977.
The flats are surrounded by common ground.
The the other units have fenced off courtyards at the rear.
I have a ground floor flat that opens up onto common ground.

My back door is elevated. when i purchased the property there was a landing/deck servicing my back door. The landing had been there for a long time (perhaps since 1977) and was in a dilapidated state. A few years ago I repaired this landing. Now I am engaged in a dispute with the OC. The OC say my repair of the landing is unauthorized, and they demand its removal. No ifs/no buts.

My next door neighbor (also a flat) has the same type of landing, but the OC have only been pursuing me (the neighbor flat is owned by a gov agency). I have launched a VCAT action, asking that I have the right to repair my landing (and other points which will be heard).

My questions are to do with common ground/exclusive use of the fenced off court yards for the other the units in the strata. The members of the Committee live in and/or own these units, and those members have built decks and others structures in those respective areas in recent years.

I am searching clarity:

Would the fenced off yards behind the 'non flats' be 'exclusive use' or 'owned' by the respective lot owner?
Do the owners of the lots with fenced off yards have the right to build structure/decks/verandahs without the permission of the OC.
Can the OC demand council permits for my landing, and not make the same demand for structures recently built in the fenced off yards by committee members?
Can the OC demand council permits at all? I would have thought it is up to the council to decide if they need a permit. I dont think i need one.
Should there be a document that outlines the rights of what the owners can build/cant build in their fenced off yards? Is this document a license/lease?
How would i know definitely whether court yards are 'privately owned' and are therefore not subject to the rules of the OC as the committee claim?
What documents would I seek to obtain to be sure?

My feeling is that an owner cannot build a deck/verandah anywhere in the strata without the permission of the OC irregardless of status private owned/exclusive use of a court yard.
And the OC cannot pick and choose who needs a council permit.

Furthermore, the OC can't demand a removal of a service of access to my door, where that service is required to meet building code regulations, and where the easement of access has been in place since 1977.


Oh, fun and games.

Thank you.

E

 

What does your title show? The strata plan will show the area which you 'own'

You can't touch anything without OC consent

You won't get a council consent without the OC having granted consent in the first place, you need to present plans and get the Exec to sign the DA/CC

The DCP will identify if you require planning consent for the works. If consent is required, then you need OC consent to submit to council/certifier

Either the area in question is part of your allotment and shown on the strata plan of subdivision or it has been granted subject to an exclusive use by-law

They will be shown on title or included in an exclusive use by-law (as above)

You may need to get a copy of the original plans from council to see whether your structure was in fact approved by council. Why did you seek to repair the deck yourself if it sits on common property (though possibly with exclusive use)? These are the joys of strata living.

 

Scott, thank you very much for taking the time to reply.

The reason I repaired the landing at my back door is because it was unsafe, I use this entrance as my main entrance. Even though the landing sits on common ground, and you could see its poor state of repair from distance, however, the OC failed to identify the structure as a safety concern on any report over many years, even though you can see the poor state of the structure from photos. I assumed (rightly or wrongly) that it was up to me repair the structure, as it is not used by anyone else. Perhaps I should have asked before repairing it, however, I believe their demand to now pull it down is oppressive, discriminatory, and is a violation of other rights, including my right to access. The demand also ignores my obligation to repair and maintain service under the act.

However, my main line of inquiry is related to the fenced off areas behind the other units (and not my flat).
The CoM state that these areas are privately owned by the respective lot owner and that the owner can do whatever they like in their courtyards. For example, the CoM state that no approval and permits are required by the owner of lot 20 (for example) to build a deck in the courtyard at the rear of this lot.

I can't imagine how owners of those lots can build decks and other structures in these fenced court yards without OC approval (and relevant permits if required by DCP). However, if this proves to be the case, I will leave the question alone.

I have uploaded a pdf of the strata plan subdivision for my complex. Any feedback about this plan would be wonderful.

1-16 are flats. I am not concerned about these. They are surrounded by common ground.
17-40 are double story units (with fenced off areas at he rear).
41-82 are car parks.

I would be very grateful if you could give an opinion based on this plan, re the status of the courtyards at the rear of lots 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25 & 27 (Sheets 8,9 &10 (page 11 & 12) along the southern boundary.

As you can see on page 11 & 12, lots 19-27 have dashes around the building accept for the shared walls, and a black line leading to the southern boundary represents the fences in place. It confuses the hell out of me how to interpret this.

I might also point out that when these lots are for sale there is no specification for owning the courtyard, no yard dimensions are offered on the section 32's. Only the meterage inside the walls.

Any feedback you are any other kind posters out there could offer would be wonderful.

Thanks & Regards,

E

 

@lixas4 is a VIC Surveyor. Maybe he can offer an interpretation of the plans.
i cant see any notation that states you have exclusive use of any common areas.
Do you have a copy of the "By-Laws" and any special ammendments.
it is not unusual for ammendments to be made from the original strata model.

 

Thanks very much. I know I don't have exclusive use rights to common ground as I am in a flat.
I am very interested in the rights of lots 17 to 27 however.
I'll try to obtain a copy of any By-Laws or Special Amendments.
Would these documents be passed from manager to manager?

Thanks again for your info.

E

 

@EvanM ,
try your Strata Manager. They should have all the registered dealings.

im not sure how it works in VIC, but it might also be possible to order all the docs from the VIC Land Titles Registry.

 

Bylaws should be available from your Body Corporate Exec or from the Strata Manager.

 

Thanks for your info Scott.

 

Thanks for the reply, appreciate the info.

 

A screenshot of unit 17 and 18 from your strata plan is attached.

The building is the lower half of the unit and is in that units ownership. Also included is the land between the dashed lines which have the bearings and distances. These lines would probably represent the fences. Without more investigation i cant definatively answer your question. What you can do is go and roughly measure the fenced distances of unit 17 and 18. If they are close to the distances shown on the screenshot, then you have your answer. That the land between the fences is privately owned and is a part of the respective units. Note, these old plans use the word 'unit', which has the same meaning as 'lot'.

 

Thank you very much for your reply Lixas4. Thanks for sharing.

I have attached a google earth of the site, with annotation for further clarity.

It is interesting that the front yard of the respective lots have bearings and measurements on the plans of SD (these areas are heavily and well gardened).

The rear yards are fenced (see white lines), but there are no measurements or bearings on the plan at all. Just black lines for fences.

Should all 'privately owned' areas have measurements specified on the Plan of SD?

Thanks & Kind Regards

E

 

Yes that is correct, the northern section with the dimensions is within the ownership, as well as the southern section (without the dimensions). The outline of the building is shown but it doesnt necessarily represent the boundary, only when its a thick line. The thick lines and dashed lines with dimensions are the boundaries on strata plans. The dimensioned boundaries may be represented by fences but were probably not at the time of subdivision. The southern boundaries (thick lines) that dont have the dimensions are represented by structures (fences/buildings etc), however, if the structure has been removed then they would need to be defined by scaling from the plan or another appropriate method. Basically, to answer your question, the land to the north and south of the units (17 to 27) are in private ownership.

 

Thank you very much for the info Lixas4,

Regards,

E