Introductory note. This Chapter contains miscellaneous provisions relating to the operation and management of strata schemes and the administration of the Act.The Chapter contains a regulation-making power that enables regulations to be made in relation to such matters as the fees for applications to the Director-General, an Adjudicator or the Tribunal, mediation and other matters of a procedural or administrative nature.
Part 1 Matters relating to proceedings
Proceedings for an offence against this Act or the regulations may be dealt with summarily before a Local Court.
226 Other rights and remedies not affected by this Act
(1) Nothing in this Act derogates from any rights or remedies that an owner, mortgagee or chargee of a lot or an owners corporation or covenant chargee may have in relation to any lot or the common property apart from this Act.(2) In any proceedings to enforce a right or remedy referred to in subsection (1), the court in which the proceedings are taken must order the plaintiff to pay the defendant’s costs if the court is of the opinion that, having regard to the subject-matter of the proceedings, the taking of the proceedings was not justified because this Act or Part 4 of the Community Land Management Act 1989 makes adequate provision for the enforcement of those rights or remedies.(3) The defendant’s costs are to be as determined by the court.
227 Owners corporation may represent owners in certain proceedings
(1) This section applies to proceedings in relation to common property.(2) If the owners of the lots in a strata scheme are jointly entitled to take proceedings against any person or are liable to have proceedings taken against them jointly, the proceedings may be taken by or against the owners corporation.(3) Any judgment or order given or made in favour of or against the owners corporation in any such proceedings has effect as if it were a judgment or order given or made in favour of or against the owners.(4) A contribution required to be made by an owner of a lot to another owner in relation to such a judgment debt is to bear the same proportion to the judgment debt as the unit entitlement of the contributing owner bears to the aggregate unit entitlement.
228 Structural defects—proceedings as agent
(1) An interested person may take proceedings for the rectification of the condition of a part of a building, or a part of the site of a building, if that condition affects or is likely to affect the support or shelter provided by that part to any other part of the building or its site.(2) Any such proceedings may be taken only if:(a) they could have been taken by an owner of a lot or by another person in whom is vested an estate in fee simple in a part of the building or its site, and(b) they have not been taken by the owner or other person within a reasonable time.(3) Any such proceedings are taken by an interested person as agent for the person who might have taken the proceedings and at the cost of the interested person.(4) In this section, interested person means:(a) the owners corporation for the strata scheme for the building or, if part of the building is included in a stratum parcel, of any strata scheme for part of the building, or(b) the lessor of a leasehold strata scheme, or(c) any person in whom is vested an estate in fee simple or, in the case of a leasehold strata scheme, a leasehold estate, registered under the Real Property Act 1900 in any part of the building or its site that is not included in a stratum parcel.
229 Costs in proceedings by owners against owners corporation
(1) This section applies to proceedings brought by one or more owners of lots against an owners corporation or by an owners corporation against one or more owners of lots (including one or more owners joined in third party proceedings).(2) The court may order in proceedings that any money (including costs) payable by an owners corporation under an order made in the proceedings must be paid from contributions levied only in relation to such lots and in such proportions as are specified in the order.(3) If a court makes such an order the owners corporation must, for the purpose of paying the money ordered to be paid by it, levy contributions in accordance with the terms of the order and must pay the money out of the contributions paid in accordance with that levy.(4) Division 2 of Part 3 of Chapter 3 (section 78 (2) excepted) applies to and in respect of contributions levied under this section in the same way as it applies to contributions levied under that Division.
230 Restrictions on owners corporation levying contributions for expenses
(1) An owners corporation cannot, in respect of its costs and expenses in proceedings brought by or against it under Chapter 5, levy a contribution on another party who is successful in the proceedings.(2) An owners corporation that is unsuccessful in proceedings brought by or against it under Chapter 5 cannot pay any part of its costs and expenses in the proceedings from its administrative fund or sinking fund, but may make a levy for the purpose.(3) In this section, a reference to proceedings under Chapter 5 includes a reference to proceedings on appeal.
231 Applications for legal assistance
(1) The owner of a lot or the owners corporation for a strata scheme as the owner of common property may apply for assistance in connection with the institution or defence of legal proceedings before any court or tribunal in relation to any matter arising or connected with the operation or application of a provision of the lease of that lot or common property.(2) The application is to be in writing to the Director-General.(3) The lessor of a leasehold strata scheme cannot make an application under this Division.
232 Procedure when Director-General receives application
(1) After receiving an application under this Division, the Director-General:(a) may require the applicant to provide the Director-General with such further information in relation to the application as, in the opinion of the Director-General, may assist the investigation of the application, or(b) may refuse to proceed with the application until such a requirement has been complied with, or(c) must determine whether to proceed with an investigation of the application or, having proceeded with such an investigation, whether to discontinue the investigation.(2) In making a determination to proceed with or discontinue an investigation of an application, the Director-General must have regard to whether, in the opinion of the Director-General:(a) the application is frivolous, vexatious, misconceived or lacking in substance, or(b) the applicant has unreasonably delayed complying with a requirement of the Director-General to supply further information, or(c) the applicant has an alternative and better means of redress.(3) The Director-General may have regard to such other matters as the Director-General considers to be appropriate.(4) If the Director-General decides to proceed with an investigation of an application, the Director-General must:(a) inform the applicant of the decision, and(b) inform the lessor of the decision and of the subject-matter of the investigation, and(c) invite the lessor to make within a specified period written submission with respect to that subject-matter.(5) The Director-General must inform the applicant if the Director-General decides not to proceed with an investigation of an application under this section and must inform the applicant and the lessor if the Director-General decides to discontinue such an investigation.
233 Investigation of application for legal assistance
(1) For the purpose of investigating an application under this Division, the Director-General, or a delegate of the Director-General, may enter on the lot concerned at any reasonable time on notice given to the occupier of that lot and may at any time enter on the common property.(2) A person must not obstruct or hinder the Director-General, or the delegate of the Director-General, in the exercise of the powers conferred by this section.Maximum penalty (subsection (2)): 5 penalty units.
(1) Division 2 (sections 12 and 15 (6) excepted) of Part 2 of the Fair Trading Act 1987 applies to and in respect of an application under this Part in the same way as it applies to and in respect of an application under section 12 of that Act.(2) Whether or not an investigation of an application under this Division has been completed, the Director-General may, with the consent of the Minister administering the Fair Trading Act 1987, seek an injunction in the Supreme Court in relation to the subject-matter of the application.(3) An injunction may be granted without any undertaking being given by the Director-General as to damages.(4) For the purposes of subsection (1):(a) an injunction sought under this section is taken to have been sought by the person who made the relevant application under this Division, and(b) that person is taken to be an assisted person under Division 2 of Part 2 of the Fair Trading Act 1987.
235 Service of documents on an owners corporation
(1) A summons or other legal process may be served on an owners corporation by leaving it with the chairperson or secretary of the owners corporation or of the executive committee or with any member of the executive committee.(2) A document other than a summons or other legal process may be served on an owners corporation:(a) by leaving it with any person referred to in subsection (1) or in the letterbox of the owners corporation, or(b) by posting it, by prepaid mail, to the owners corporation at its address recorded in the folio of the Register comprising the common property, or(c) by sending it by facsimile transmission to a person referred to in subsection (1).
236 Service of documents by owners corporation and others
(1) Application of section
This section applies to service of a notice or other document required or authorised by this Act or the by-laws to be served by the Director-General, an Adjudicator, the Tribunal, an owners corporation, the lessor of a leasehold strata scheme, an executive committee or the secretary of an executive committee and is subject to the other provisions of this Act.(2) Service on occupier of lot
A notice or other document may be served on the occupier of a lot:(a) by post at that address, or(b) by leaving it at the address of the lot with some person apparently of or above the age of 16 years.(3) Service where address is included in strata roll
If an address for the service of notices on a person is recorded in the strata roll, a document may be served on the person:(a) by post at that address, or(b) by leaving it at that address with some person apparently of or above the age of 16 years.(4) Service on owner of lot
A document may be served on the owner of a lot:(a) personally, or(b) by post at the address of the lot, or(c) by leaving it on a part of the lot that is the owner’s place of residence or business (otherwise than on a part of the lot provided for the accommodation of a vehicle or as a storeroom), or(d) by leaving it in a place provided on the parcel for receiving mail posted to the lot, or(e) in any manner authorised by the by-laws for the service of notices on owners.(5) Service of notice to produce certain records and property
Notice under section 105 may be served on a person:(a) personally or by post, or(b) by leaving it with a person apparently of or above the age of 16 years at the place of residence or place of business of the person to be served with the notice.(6) Service on person where building included in stratum parcel
A document may be served on a person in whom is vested an estate in fee simple, or, in the case of a leasehold strata scheme, a leasehold estate registered under the Real Property Act 1900, in part of a building or its site, another part of which is included in a stratum parcel, in any manner provided by section 170 of the Conveyancing Act 1919.
Part 4 Seal of owners corporation
237 Who may keep seal of owners corporation?
(1) If an owners corporation has only one owner, the seal of the owners corporation must be kept by the owner or by the strata managing agent of the owners corporation.(2) If an owners corporation has 2 or more owners, the seal of the owners corporation must be kept:(a) by an owner, or member of the executive committee, that the owners corporation determines is to keep the seal or, in the absence of a determination, by the secretary of the executive committee, or(b) by the strata managing agent of the owners corporation.(3) A strata managing agent is entitled to custody of the seal of an owners corporation only to permit the exercise of the strata managing agent’s functions.(4) Section 50 (2) and (3) of the Interpretation Act 1987 do not apply to an owners corporation.Note. Section 50 (2) and (3) of the Interpretation Act 1987 contain provisions relating to the keeping of the seal of a statutory corporation and the authentication of documents by a statutory corporation.
238 How should the seal of the owners corporation be affixed?
(1) If an owners corporation has only one owner or 2 owners, the seal of the owners corporation must not be affixed to any instrument or document except in the presence of the owner or owners or the strata managing agent of the owners corporation.(2) If an owners corporation has more than 2 owners, the seal of the owners corporation must not be affixed to any instrument or document except in the presence of:(a) 2 persons, being owners of lots or members of the executive committee, that the owners corporation determines for the purpose or, in the absence of a determination, the secretary and any other member of the executive committee, or(b) the strata managing agent of the owners corporation.(3) The strata managing agent must attest the fact and date of the affixing of the seal:(a) by his or her signature, or(b) if the strata managing agent is a corporation, by the signature of the president, chairperson or other principal officer of the corporation or by any member of staff of the corporation authorised to do so by the president, chairperson or other principal officer.(4) A strata managing agent who has affixed the common seal of the owners corporation to any instrument or document is taken to have done so under the authority of a delegation from the owners corporation.(5) Subsection (4) does not operate so as to enable a person to fraudulently obtain a benefit.(6) A person is taken not to have fraudulently obtained a benefit from the operation of subsection (4) if the benefit was, without any fraud by the person, obtained before the seal was affixed.
239 Change of owners corporation’s address
(1) An owners corporation may change its address for service of notices by deciding in general meeting to make the change and lodging in the office of the Registrar-General a notice in the form approved under the Real Property Act 1900 of the change of address.(2) On receiving the notice, the Registrar-General is to make such recording as the Registrar-General considers appropriate:(a) in the case of a freehold strata scheme, in the folio of the Register comprising the common property for the scheme, or(b) in the case of a leasehold strata scheme, in the folio of the Register for the lease of the common property for the scheme.(3) If the strata scheme is part of a community scheme, the owners corporation must give written notice of the change to the community association and, in the case of a strata scheme that is also part of a precinct scheme under the Community Land Management Act 1989, to the precinct association.(4) A change of address does not take effect until it is recorded in the Register in accordance with this section.
(1) The owners corporation for a strata scheme for a parcel that is not a stratum parcel is taken to be the owner of the land constituting the parcel for the purposes of the Dividing Fences Act 1991.(2) The owners corporation for each freehold strata scheme for a stratum parcel including part of a building and each person in whom is vested an estate in fee simple in a part of the building or its site that is not included in such a parcel (for the purposes of that part) are taken to be the owners of the land constituting the building and its site.(3) The owners corporation for each leasehold strata scheme for a stratum parcel including part of a building (for the purposes of that parcel) and any person, not being a sublessee, in whom is vested a leasehold estate, registered under the Real Property Act 1900, in a part of the building or its site that is not included in such a parcel (for the purposes of that part) are taken to be the owners of the land constituting the building and its site.(4) Subsections (1)–(3) do not apply to land that is part of a community scheme or to any part of a parcel that is the subject of a lease accepted or acquired by an owners corporation under section 19 of the Strata Schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 or section 22 of the Strata Schemes (Leasehold Development) Act 1986.(5) A strata management statement may apportion liability arising under the Dividing Fences Act 1991, but only between persons bound by the statement.
241 Apportionment of statutory charges
(1) This section applies to expenditure by a public authority that would, because of any Act or of anything done under the authority of any Act (including the registration of a covenant charge), be a charge on the land comprised in a parcel if the parcel were not the subject of a strata scheme.(2) Any expenditure is a charge on:(a) in the case of a freehold strata scheme, each lot in the strata scheme for an amount bearing to the whole of that expenditure the same proportion as the unit entitlement of that lot bears to the aggregate unit entitlement, or(b) in the case of a leasehold strata scheme, the lease of each lot in the strata scheme for an amount bearing to the whole of that expenditure the same proportion as the unit entitlement of that lot bears to the aggregate unit entitlement.(3) The owner or mortgagee of a lot the subject of a charge referred to in this section may pay to the authority entitled to the charge the amount of the charge and on payment:(a) the lot or the lease and the appurtenant beneficial interest in the common property are freed from the charge, and(b) the authority has no legal rights against the owner or the lot or lease or appurtenant beneficial interest in common property in relation to the subject-matter of the charge.
242 Powers of entry by public authority
A public authority that is authorised by any Act to enter on part of a parcel for the purpose of exercising any power conferred on it may enter on any other part of that parcel (and, if it is a stratum parcel, any other part of the building concerned or its site, whether or not it is part of a parcel) if it is necessary to do so in order to exercise that power.
243 Notices under Real Property Act 1900 to owners corporation taken to be notices to owners
A notice given to an owners corporation under Part 2, 4 or 15 of the Real Property Act 1900 is taken to have been given to each owner of a lot in the strata scheme concerned in the absence of evidence that the contents of the notice were not communicated by the owners corporation to any owner of such a lot.
244 Protection of Director-General and Adjudicator
The Director-General and an Adjudicator, in the exercise of their functions under this Part, have the same protection and immunities as a Magistrate.
245 Contracting out prohibited
(1) The provisions of this Act have effect despite any stipulation to the contrary in any agreement, contract or arrangement entered into after the commencement of this section.(2) No agreement, contract or arrangement, whether oral or wholly or partly in writing, entered into after the commencement of this section operates to annul, vary or exclude any of the provisions of this Act.
(1) The Governor may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act, for or with respect to any matter that by this Act is required or permitted to be prescribed or that is necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act.(2) In particular, the regulations may make provision for or with respect to the following:(a) the forms to be used for the purposes of this Act,(b) the fees to be paid for applications made to the Director-General, an Adjudicator or the Tribunal under this Act and the remission of any such fees,(c) the nomination and election of members of executive committees,(d) the mediation of matters under this Act,(e) the practice and procedure of Adjudicators and the Tribunal,(f) the procedure for the referral of applications to an Adjudicator or the Tribunal.(3) A regulation may create an offence punishable by a penalty not exceeding 2 penalty units.
247 Savings, transitional and other provisions
Schedule 4 has effect.
(1) The Minister is to review this Act to determine whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives.(2) The review is to be undertaken as soon as possible after the period of 5 years from the date of assent to this Act.(3) A report of the outcome of the review is to be tabled in each House of Parliament within 12 months after the end of the period of 5 years.