Decisions table

• TMCM Enterprises Pty Ltd lot owner
• Global Investment Group Holdings Pty Ltd party
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 78894 owners corp
• Strata Community Insurance Agencies Pty Ltd insurer
• KatzBergin Loss Adjusters Pty Ltd consultant

The court ordered the second plaintiff to provide security for costs in the amounts of $65,000 for the first defendant, $65,000 for the second defendant, and $90,000 for the third defendant, with proceedings stayed until security is provided.

• The Owners - Strata Plan No 2227 owners corp
• Navhand Pty Ltd lot owner

Judgment entered for the Owners Corporation against Navhand for unpaid strata levies, interest, and recovery costs totalling $94,740.78, with the defendant ordered to pay the plaintiff's costs.

• The Owners-Strata Plan No 8461 owners corp
• Joseph Georghy lot owner

The owners corporation's application for orders to remove items stored on common property, remove unauthorised alterations, prevent vehicle parking, and restore common property was dismissed as the corporation failed to establish its case.

• Bei Bei Tao lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 16107 owners corp

The appeal was upheld and the owners corporation was ordered to undertake all necessary work to repair the internal wall in Lot 8, including stopping water from travelling behind tiles into cement render, removing the watermark, and painting the room to its original condition by 1 March 2024.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 84674 owners corp
• Pafburn Pty Ltd builder
• Madarina Pty Limited developer

The Court allowed the appeal and struck out the builder's proportionate liability defences, holding that the non-delegable duty under section 37 of the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 is not subject to apportionment under Part 4 of the Civil Liability Act 2002.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 21563 owners corp
• Katherine Yvonne Rutherford lot owner

The appeal was allowed and the judgment amount was reduced from $10,169.29 to $7,019.64 by excluding legal costs incurred in pre-litigation mediation, which were found to be prohibited by Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 clause 60.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 44958 owners corp
• Joanne Michel lot owner
• Alan Cook lot owner

The Tribunal ordered replacement of the Colourbond fence with equal cost-sharing between the parties, rejecting the applicant's claim that the retaining wall was part of the dividing fence and finding the existing fence was not sufficient.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 99779 owners corp
• Rockdale One Pty Ltd builder
• Piety THP Pty Ltd party

The Tribunal found that numerous defect items (CP.503, CP.506, CP.507, CP.508, CP.509, CP.511, CP.80, CP.302 and all similar instances) were defective and ordered the respondents to rectify them by work order to be filed within 14 days.

• Kevin Lenux lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 88786 owners corp

Both proceedings were dismissed; the tribunal found that Special By-law 1 prohibiting enclosure of the mezzanine level was valid and not harsh, unconscionable or oppressive, and that the owners corporation did not unreasonably refuse to make the modified renovation works by-law.

• Virginia Louise Osborne lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 13516 owners corp

The respondent was found to have breached its duties to maintain common property (electrical infrastructure and asbestos-contaminated cabinet) but the applicant succeeded in recovering only $4,752.00 for a damaged marble table and 50% of costs, with claims for loss of rental income and other expenses dismissed.

• The Owners of Strata Plan No 97315 owners corp
• Icon Co (NSW) Pty Ltd builder

Application for leave to appeal from the primary judge's decision adopting the referee's report regarding defective sunshade installations was dismissed with costs, as the application did not raise an issue of principle, question of public importance, or reasonably clear injustice.

LAND LAW — Strata title — Termination of strata scheme — Where termination orders sought not unanimous — Where there are existing debts owed by owners corporation to an unsecured lender — Whether registered mortgagees ought be paid first from proceeds of sale if termination orders made — Whether collective sale pursuant to Part 10 of the Strata Schemes Development Act is more appropriate in the circumstances

On the tribunal register; not yet read into parties, outcome, and amount. Read the source decision.

APPEALS – Adequacy of reasons LAND LAW – Strata title – By-laws - Interpretation of by-law – Whether by-law is an “instrument” for the purposes of the Interpretation Act 1987 (NSW) WORDS AND PHRASES – “Instrument”

On the tribunal register; not yet read into parties, outcome, and amount. Read the source decision.

• Akhil Sethi lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 93392 owners corp

Proceedings dismissed as frivolous, vexatious and an abuse of process, with plaintiff ordered to pay defendant's costs on an indemnity basis.

Costs – strata renewal plan – application for an order giving effect to – discontinuance of proceedings – statutory provision that owners corporation pay dissenting owner’s costs – otherwise order for costs sought

On the tribunal register; not yet read into parties, outcome, and amount. Read the source decision.

• Heather Gee lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 32191 owners corp

The Appeal Panel refused leave to appeal and dismissed the appellant's appeal against the Tribunal's dismissal of her application for appointment of a compulsory strata manager.

• Northern Beaches Council government
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 7114 owners corp

The hearing scheduled for 16 and 17 November 2023 was vacated, orders 5 to 16 made on 25 May 2023 were vacated, and the proceedings were listed for further directions not before 1 March 2024 due to the Tribunal being deprived of jurisdiction over issues that are the subject of concurrent District Court proceedings.

• Peter McDaid lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 60346 owners corp

The application was dismissed; the Tribunal found that while common property waterproofing was in disrepair, the lot owner failed to substantiate his damages claim for lost rent and failed to provide a sufficiently detailed scope of works to support a work order, and there were no grounds to appoint a compulsory strata manager or remove the strata committee member from office.

• Robert Klewer lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan 70149 owners corp

The application seeking orders to set aside decisions of the Owners Corporation regarding payment plans, interest waiver, reimbursement for repairs, unit valuations, action against adjoining owner, and common property repairs was dismissed.

• Lucineh Amirchian lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan no 99357 owners corp

The Appeal Panel upheld the appeal, set aside the first instance decision dismissing the application, and ordered the Respondent to pay the Appellant $7500 compensation for lost rental income due to the Respondent's breach of its duty to maintain and repair common property following water leakage.

• Ruihui Ma lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 65870 owners corp
• Michael Lehner lot owner
• Professional Strata Management Group manager
• Network Strata Services Pty Ltd manager

Network Strata Services Pty Ltd was appointed as the strata managing agent for 12 months in preference to Professional Strata Management Group due to doubts about PSMG's competence based on prior failures, with no order as to costs.

• Paul Thomas Butt lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 71715 owners corp
• John O'Donnell lot owner

The application was dismissed as the orders sought were misconceived and lacked utility, particularly because the transformer room complained of is located on property owned by the City of Sydney and leased to Ausgrid, not on common property of the Owners Corporation.

• The Owners - Strata Plan No. 13031 owners corp
• Ricky Harasty lot owner

The Costs Respondent (Harasty) was ordered to pay 50% of the Costs Applicant's (The Owners) costs of the appeal due to special circumstances including late withdrawal of serious misleading conduct allegations and persistence despite prior warning of costs exposure.

• Haidi Noor lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 72939 owners corp

Both the owners corporation's application to vary the costs order and the owner's application to vary the costs order were dismissed; the Appeal Panel maintained its original no order as to costs of the appeal decision.

• Hadi Noor lot owner
• The Owners-Strata Plan No 72939 owners corp

The appeal was allowed; the Tribunal's costs decision was set aside and remitted for redetermination once the primary proceedings have been redetermined.

• Danielle Gai Purcell lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 908 owners corp

The Tribunal dismissed applications for costs by both parties and ordered each party to bear their own costs of the proceedings, finding no special circumstances warranted a costs award where the substantive dispute was resolved by consent orders for window repair works and did not proceed to a contested hearing on the merits.

• Ellen Marie Abraham lot owner
• The Owners Strata Plan No. 61419 owners corp

The application to renew proceedings for enforcement of orders requiring the Owners Corporation to allow inspection of strata scheme records was dismissed as the renewal was brought outside the required timeframe and the nature of relief sought was not appropriate for renewal proceedings.

COSTS – whether special circumstances – claim for costs made against the owners corporation which did not participate in the substantive proceedings.

On the tribunal register; not yet read into parties, outcome, and amount. Read the source decision.

• Allan Veney lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 2245 owners corp

The Appeal Panel refused leave to appeal and dismissed the appellant's appeal against the Tribunal's orders dispensing with a hearing and awarding costs to the respondent, finding no appealable error in the first instance decision.

• John Hanley Archibald lot owner
• Lynette Archibald lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 50441 owners corp

The Owners Corporation was ordered to pay civil penalties of $1,100 for contravention of orders 4A, 4B, 4C and 4E, and $5,500 for contravention of order 4D, totalling $6,600, to the first applicant for failure to complete specified water remediation works by the contractual deadline of 2 December 2021.

BUILDING AND CONSTRUCTION — builder retained to repair defects caused by original builder — whether proceedings for breach of statutory warranty commenced within 7 years after completion of work — s18E, Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) — date of completion of work — s3B, Home Building Act — legislative history – distinction between completion and practical completion – meaning of “completion” — interaction between s3B(2) and (3). REFEREE — separate question — whether to adopt report — error of law i

On the tribunal register; not yet read into parties, outcome, and amount. Read the source decision.

• Promina Design & Construction Pty Ltd builder
• The Owners—Strata Plan No 97449 owners corp

The appeal was dismissed and the Tribunal's decision to transfer proceedings to the District Court was upheld, despite the appellant's arguments regarding jurisdictional limitations.

• BlueHouseCoffs Pty Ltd lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 61419 owners corp
• Karin Puels lot owner

BlueHouseCoffs Pty Ltd was joined as applicant and Karin Puels removed; the owners corporation was restrained for three months from obtaining further legal services without general meeting approval; applications for production of documents were dismissed; the application was otherwise dismissed.

• BNK Café Restaurant Pty Ltd lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 33676 owners corp

The Appeal Panel dismissed the appellant's application for costs of the appeal, finding no special circumstances warranted a departure from the general rule that each party bear its own costs.

• The Owners - Strata Plan No. 84716 owners corp
• Delmont Purcell lot owner

The lot owner was found to have breached notices to comply with by-laws 5 and 7, and ordered to pay a penalty of $1,320 (8 penalty units for by-law 5 breach and 4 penalty units for by-law 7 breach).

• Rebecca Ann Beitzel lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 67504 owners corp
• Richard Christian lot owner
• Heidi Danilewitz lot owner
• Cindy Radomsky lot owner
• Q's Investment (Int) Pty Ltd lot owner
• Harry Haber lot owner
• Jaffa Haber lot owner

The application for orders directing the owners corporation to consent to construction of a swimming pool and to prescribe a common property rights by-law was dismissed as the applicant failed to establish that the owners corporation unreasonably refused consent.

• Mei Lan Roberts lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 4393 owners corp

The Appeal Panel dismissed the respondent's application for costs and ordered each party to pay their own costs of the appeal, finding that rule 38 did not apply and no special circumstances warranting an award of costs existed.

• Haidi Noor lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 72939 owners corp

The appeal was allowed; the order dismissing the claim for damages for loss of rent was upheld as time-barred, but the issues of whether the lot owner is entitled to a work order and damages other than for loss of rent were remitted to the Tribunal for reconsideration.

• Ricky Harasty lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 13031 owners corp

The appeal against a costs order awarded to the respondent in connection with a dismissed application for interim relief was dismissed, with the Appeal Panel finding the Tribunal's reasons for awarding costs adequate and the discretion to award costs not having miscarried.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 10717 owners corp
• Darryl William Mantell lot owner
• Diane Louise Mantell lot owner

The Tribunal dismissed the owners corporation's application to remove a bench from common property but granted the lot owners' application for a common property rights by-law relating to the subject area, finding the owners corporation's refusal of the by-law was unreasonable.

• Sunaust Properties Pty Ltd t/as Central Sydney Realty contractor
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 64807 owners corp

The Court of Appeal dismissed the caretaker's appeal and upheld the Tribunal's jurisdiction to terminate the caretaker agreement under s 72 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

• Noela Hunt lot owner
• Brian Hunt lot owner
• Cheryl Hunt lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 1158/84199 owners corp

The Tribunal dismissed both applications finding the Owners Corporation did not unreasonably refuse consent to install air-conditioning condenser units on the balcony returns as the proposed works were not compliant with Special By-law 5 and the by-law itself was not unjust.

• Gary Mark Colman lot owner
• The Owners Strata Plan No. 61131 owners corp

The Lot owner was ordered to pay the costs of The Owners Strata Plan No. 61131 on an ordinary basis (not indemnity basis) as the unsuccessful party in the substantive proceedings.

• Rosa Camilleri and Sandra Peer lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 4987 owners corp

The application was dismissed as the tribunal was not satisfied that the owners corporation unreasonably refused consent to the lot owners' proposed structural renovation works involving removal of load bearing walls in unit 14.

• Akhil Sethi lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 93392 owners corp
• Mr Cho party

The application for recusal of the judge was refused as the allegations of bias and private communications were found to be completely unfounded and lacking any logical connection between asserted facts and feared deviation from impartial decision-making.

• Akhil Sethi lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 93392 owners corp

The motion to set aside orders made on 17 July 2023 was dismissed; Campbell J held that UCPR 36.15 does not permit review of orders for error in merits and that the proper avenue to challenge the earlier decision is the Court of Appeal.

• Akhil Sethi lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 93392 owners corp
• Joe Cho party

Documents filed in contravention of a stay order were removed from the court file and returned to the applicant, and a notice to produce was set aside.

• Akhil Sethi lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 93392 owners corp

The plaintiff was ordered not to take any further steps in the proceedings without complying with prior orders or obtaining leave, and was ordered to pay the defendant's costs on the ordinary basis due to multiple unsuccessful applications and procedural breaches.

BUILDING & CONSTRUCTION; Home Building – breach of statutory warranties – where work involved the conversion to residential use of a commercial space – scope of contract -effect of implied warranties.

On the tribunal register; not yet read into parties, outcome, and amount. Read the source decision.

LAND LAW---Strata scheme---s 237 Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW)---Appointment of compulsory strata manager---Where compulsory strata manger already appointed---Whether circumstances justify a further appointment of compulsory strata manager---Whether circumstances justify extension of the existing order.

On the tribunal register; not yet read into parties, outcome, and amount. Read the source decision.