Hi Everyone, I moved into a townhouse last August which is one of 6 on a Strata title. At the first strata meeting I was told that a small piece of common property was absorbed by my neighbour during their renovation in 2018. He told me it was a small unused piece of land and nobody minded him taking it as his, however there is no record of any discussion or vote by the OC and no by-law put in place. I have since learnt that the piece of land wasn't small - 25m2! it brings his boundary significantly closer to mine and has enabled him to build a set of stairs at the side of his house that look directly into our bedrooms. regardless of the privacy issue - we did purchase the property after it was done - I essentially see this as theft, I live in Balgowlah on the northern beaches where land prices are crazy, i expect the value of 25m2 of land would be well over $50k, nothings been paid towards the strata fund by way of compensation yet obviously his property has significantly risen in value as a result of increasing his land. I'd really appreciate any opinions or experience anyone can offer cheers
What do you want to do about it exactly? And how much effort are you willing to go to? You might need to get lawyers involved.
Okay, assume the land is theoretically worth $60k which would be $10k to each owner. If the other 5 owners weren't concerned before, they probably still aren't , so you could easily spend many thousands of dollars pursuing this for a benefit to you of $10k. IMO, unless at least 3 other owners share your concerns and are prepared to put their hands in their pockets to fund legal action then I think you are on a hiding to nothing.
So in regard to the other owners - one of them also absorbed some land during a renovation at the same time though much smaller, the owner I purchased from was in very poor health and has since died and 2 other owners have moved in within the past 18 months so the previous owners probably didn't care as they were selling. The Strata fund needs topping up so this would be an opportunity to do so, i'm unsure how much legal cost would be involved, if any, It's pretty black and white - he's taken land without permission - if I lived next to a park and increased my boundary to absorb some of the park'/council's land - that wouldn't be something that would stand up in court, I don't see this as any different, but i'm not a lawyer
There will be legal costs and a lot of time involved for the Strata Council. Put forward a motion at the next AGM for recovery of compensation for these with possible court action as necessary against the errant owner. If the motion gets passed then the costs will be shared and it may be worth pursuing, however, if it doesn't then you would need to pursue it alone which IMO would not be worth the effort. I have been to the State Administration Tribunal (WA) a few times on strata issues and whilst you may think you are right, if other owners do not support the action, you can end up pushing **** uphill.
Another way to approach it is to pass a motion for them to rent exclusive use for an annual fee. Is there the opportunities for all owners to exclusively use a similar space?
The stairs would have required a DA/CC, design approval and consent from the BC (executive committee) - so there'd be some form of consent granted by strata which may not be recorded. If not, it's Snow illegal structure and be reported to council for removal. An FOI request to council will show whether it was approved (or via a certifier).
