Tag Archives: Strata Living

Dividing Fences

Part 1 in Solving Neighbourhood Problems

With the exception of noise, dividing fences are the source of most neighbourhood disputes. State legislation covers the rules for working out who pays for the dividing fence and also what happens if there are disputes about where the boundary lies. These laws apply to owners corporations and bodies corporate.

Basic Principle

The Dividing Fences Act 1991 (NSW) 1 provides that adjoining owners are required to share equally the cost of a “sufficient dividing fence”. If there is a dispute about the standard of fencing, one neighbour must give the other a fencing notice and disputes are heard in the local court. Mediation by a community justice centre is likely to be cheaper and less stressful.

What is a “sufficient dividing fence”?

Fence of strata schemeIn deciding what is a sufficient dividing fence, the court will take into account the following:

  • The standard of the existing fence;
  • The purpose of the fence;
  • The way the land on either side of the fence is used;
  • The privacy or other concerns of each neighbour; and
  • The kind of dividing fence that is usual in the area.

The basic principles of this act are reflected in other state based dividing fences legislation including the Dividing Fences Act 1953 (QLD), Fences Act 1968 (VIC), Common Boundaries Act 1981 (ACT) – the main difference is the issue of crown liability for dividing fences.

Who Pays?

The general rule provides for neighbours to equally share the cost. However, if one neighbour wants a fence of a greater standard than a “sufficient dividing fence”, then that neighbour will have to pay for the additional cost involved.

Boundary Disputes

If there is a dispute about the boundary line, then the act provides for this to be determined by a registered surveyor.

Encroachments

Encroachments (where buildings cross the boundary) are covered by the Encroachment of Buildings Act 1922. These are complicated cases, which can involve applications to the Supreme Court.

Avoiding Disputes

To avoid disputes about fences and boundaries, an owners corporation or body corporate needs to act reasonably and should take care to keep notes and written correspondence about the essential elements of the fencing proposition. Certainly a
neighbour who goes ahead and constructs a fence without first consulting and coming to an agreement with the other neighbour, might not be able to recover half of the costs. The community justice centres in New South Wales provide an excellent service in providing assistance to parties without the necessity of involving lawyers.

 

Thank you to Teys lawyers for this article

Top 10 tips for avoiding strata strife

On the Office of Fair Trading website the Minister for Fair Trading Virginia Judge today urged residents of strata schemes to follow 10 tips to avoid potential problems with their neighbours, which would also make the jobs of strata managers less stressful.

Ms Judge said requests for mediation in strata disputes had risen from 1,273 in 2008 to 1,405 in 2009 – an increase of almost 10 per cent.

“Complaints last year ranged from the ordinary to the off-the-wall,” Ms Judge said.

“You can understand differences of opinion over processes – but some behaviour is just peculiar.”

Some of the more unusual complaints received by Fair Trading last year included:

  • a long-running and personal feud between neighbours peaking with one positioning what the adjoining owner described as an “evil-looking effigy” in his courtyard so that it stared directly into his bedroom
  • a complaint made against an owner whose large dogs and particularly noisy pet geese were disturbing other owners resulting in threats that the geese would help save his weekly dog food bill, and
  • high rise residential tower residents dropping tables, chairs, lit cigarettes and dirty nappies onto the pavement outside the ground level café and shops.

Ms Judge said the good news was that while there was an increase in mediation requests last year, they represent a tiny fraction of the State’s 65,000 strata schemes.

“People want to get along. Whether you live in a unit, a duplex or a house, being happy in your home and having a sense of community is so important,” she said.

“Exercising commonsense and your responsibilities as well as your rights will help avoid frayed nerves.”

Ms Judge said the most common bugbears were associated with alterations to common property, breaches of by-laws, relationships with managing agents and meeting procedures.

“Fair Trading is always on hand to help and has a proven track record in helping strata residents,” she said.

“More than half of annual requests for help are either resolved during that first phone call or the caller chooses not to proceed further.

“Of the matters that do proceed, Fair Trading successfully mediates 70 percent, with the remainder adjudicated by the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT).”

Ms Judge said NSW Fair Trading’s Top 10 Tips for Strata Living include the following:

  1. Get involved – Decisions are made at meetings so get involved. Make your vote count. Use your proxy if you can’t attend.
  2. Know the rules – read Fair Trading’s “Strata Living” publication which outlines strata management requirements. see https://www.netstrata.com.au/useful-links/
  3. Looks are deceiving – get approvals before altering common property. It doesn’t matter that it’s your courtyard, if it’s common property, it’s owned by everyone.
  4. What will the neighbours think? – be mindful of others. Noise can be annoying – as is taking up visitor parking with your vehicles.
  5. Protect your investment – maintain common property. If it’s getting run down, put up a motion at a meeting for specific works to be done.
  6. Talk first – talk to your neighbours if there is a problem. They may not realise their actions are causing a nuisance.
  7. It’s your strata scheme – your strata managing agent works for you. If you’re not happy with their performance, have a meeting and vote to instruct them on how you want them to manage your scheme.
  8. If you don’t like it, change it – by-laws are there to guide the behaviour of owners and tenants. If the by-laws aren’t working, change them. You do this by putting a motion with the new by-law to a general meeting, getting over 75 per cent to vote for it, then registering the by-law at the Land and Property Management Authority.
  9. Don’t let it fester – pursue by-law breaches. If talking has not resolved a by-law breach, contact your strata committee or strata managing agent to issue a Notice to Comply with a By-law. This can lead to a fine of up to $550. You may also want to apply for mediation.
  10. Be flexible – there may be times you need to give a little more leeway to accommodate different personalities.

More information can be found in the following document or call 13 32 20. http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/biz_res/ftweb/pdfs/About_us/Think_smart_newsletter_February_2010.pdf

If your strata scheme needs help then one of our strata managers may be right for you. For an obligation free quote do not hesitate to contact our Business Development Manager Jeremy Stone on 02 8567 6408. Putting management back into strata.