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Description of this module
Principal unit owners have the right to make alterations, additions, or improvements to their unit, as long as they follow the requirements of the Unit Titles Act 2010 (the Act).
The requirements under the Unit Titles Act 2010 are as follows:1. The works must exist within the unit boundary;2. They must notify the body corporate of their intention to carried out the works, before any work commences;3. If the works materially affect any other unit, or the common property, the written approval of the body corporate needs to be obtained; and4. There is an underlying obligation for owners to comply with resolutions correctly passed by the body corporate, and the body corporate rules.
In theory these requirements would seem straight-forward enough to manage, but in practice they are often not. Real difficulties can arise around the assessment of “materially affected”, and very often insufficient plans are provided as part of the application to the body corporate for approval, which can lead to difficulties down the track in terms of assessing whether or not particular works were included as part of any approval given by the body corporate (and therefore whether multiple requests to the body corporate may be required for what may seem like connected works).
We have been involved in several cases of late (acting for both owners and bodies corporate) whereby issues have arisen where owners are carrying out works, and our suggestion is that legal advice is sought by unit owners prior to approval being sought from the body corporate. This will help in advoiding ambiguity at the outset, and issues down the track.
In terms of “unapproved works”, there will usually be a requirement for an owner to remove the unapproved works (after notice to do so from the body corporate), but if this is not done after a reasonable request (even after providing a reasonable timeframe to attend to the removal), the enforcement provisions in the Act will apply, but make sure that the appropriate steps are taken – don’t just take the law into your own hands.
Please feel free to contact us if you wish to discuss the above, or any other issues you may be dealing within a body corporate setting.
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