Decisions table

• Canterbury-Bankstown Council government
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 71808 owners corp

The respondent was convicted of three counts of contempt for failing to comply with consent orders requiring provision of fire safety certificates and upgrade strategy, and ordered to pay fines totalling $11,250 plus ongoing monthly penalties of $2,000 per charge until compliance.

• Spiros Nikitopoulos lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 52311 owners corp

The Tribunal invalidated motions 3 and 4 from the EGM on 12 September 2022 dissolving and re-electing the Strata Committee, declared Special by-laws 4 and 5 invalid, but dismissed applications for work orders, parking enforcement, and compulsory appointment of a strata managing agent.

• The Owners - Strata Plan No 4393 owners corp
• Mei Lan Roberts lot owner
• The Commissioner for Fair Trading of the Department of Customer Service government

The Tribunal found multiple contraventions of interim orders restraining Ms Roberts from carrying out unauthorised renovation works in her lot and directed that proceedings be listed for hearing to determine whether civil penalties should be imposed and in what amount.

• The Owners - Strata Plan No. 91016 owners corp
• Upright Builders Pty Ltd builder
• Bayone Projects Pty Ltd developer
• City of Ryde Council government
• The Owners - Strata Plan No. 97600 party

The Court answered yes to the separate question that the Encroachment of Buildings Act 1922 applies to the encroachment of the walkway and stairs onto Nancarrow Avenue, but qualified the answer to clarify that the Court's power is limited by existing legislative prohibitions on what the roads authority can lawfully do.

• Raymond Ross lot owner
• Sarab Chami lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 61667 owners corp

The applicants were ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the failed application to reinstate appeal proceedings in the fixed sum of $6,245.

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

The plaintiff's summons was struck out as irregularly commenced and blending impermissible criminal and civil allegations; the plaintiff was given 28 days to replead as a statement of claim; prayers to strike out the defendant's notice of appearance were refused; and the application for suppression of the plaintiff's identity was refused.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 61618 owners corp
• JPG Investment Holdings Pty Ltd lot owner
• Conrad Corporation Pty Ltd lot owner

The appeal panel granted a conditional stay of orders requiring the Owners Corporation to consent to a development application pending determination of the appeal, conditional upon the appeal being ratified at a general meeting.

COSTS – failed application for a stay of order transferring proceedings from Tribunal to a Court – Appeal Panel not satisfied order capable of being meaningfully stayed – whether r 38A of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2014 (NSW) engaged or whether special circumstances warranting an order as to costs established

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

• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 77109 owners corp
• Gokani-Robins Pty Ltd party
• KCG Investments Pty Ltd party

The respondents' application for costs in relation to the appeal was dismissed, with the tribunal finding no special circumstances warranted a costs order despite the respondents being successful on the substantive appeal.

• Maurice Clifford Westerweller lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 18482 owners corp

The appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal as special circumstances were established, being that the appeal was misconceived and untenable and the appellant conducted the appeal in a way that unnecessarily disadvantaged the respondent.

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

The appeal was dismissed and leave to appeal refused; the Appeal Panel upheld the Tribunal's finding that the owners corporation did not unreasonably refuse to make the proposed by-law amendment for electrical works that would have retrospectively sanctioned unauthorised work that interfered with common property and a neighbouring lot.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 91016 owners corp
• Upright Builders Pty Ltd builder
• Bayone Projects Pty Ltd developer
• City of Ryde Council government

Separate question ordered to determine whether City of Ryde Council is an adjacent owner under the Encroachment of Buildings Act 1922; application to amend summons refused.

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

Both summons issued at the applicant's request to produce documents were set aside as lacking reasonable particularity and amounting to fishing expeditions.

LAND LAW — Strata title — Resolution of disputes - Meetings of owners corporation – order sought under s 24 of the Strata Schemes Management Act invalidating resolution of and election held by owners corporation – Strata managing agent — Compulsory appointment of strata managing agent.

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

LAND LAW — Strata title — Strata managing agent – where three owner corporations of Finger Wharf development at Woolloomooloo passed resolutions terminating appointment of strata managing agent and appointing new one – where strata managing agent is different to managing agent appointed for Wharf as a whole by building management committee as a result – where clause of strata management statement (“SMS”) required owners’ corporations to “appoint and retain” the same strata managing agent as the

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

• Raymond Ross party
• Sarab Chami party
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 61667 owners corp

The application to extend time to lodge the application to reinstate appeal proceedings was refused, and the respondent's application for costs of the appeal was dismissed.

• Peter Maresh lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 13134 owners corp

The owners corporation must produce certain documents to the lot owner by 13 June 2023, but legal professional privilege was established for some documents relating to litigation advice.

• The Owners - Strata Plan No. 74442 owners corp
• Mandana Harrison lot owner
• Milo Brogan lot owner
• Carolyn Arnett lot owner
• Vasiliki Tsiavos lot owner
• Raveen Prakesh lot owner
• Saliya Gunawardena lot owner
• Petar Trajkovsji lot owner
• Sandor Jakucs lot owner
• Peter Clisdell Pty Ltd trading as Clisdells Strata Management manager
• Strata Management Centre Pty Limited trading as Strata Management Services NSW manager

The appeal against the compulsory strata manager appointment of Clisdells was dismissed; leave to appeal was granted on grounds 1-3 relating to procedural fairness but refused on grounds 4-5, and the original appointment order was upheld.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 7704 owners corp
• Jiwoo Kim lot owner

The Tribunal ordered the respondent to ensure that the floor space in lot 3 in the two bedrooms, hallways, living and dining room is soundproofed to prevent transmission of noise in excess of 50 LnT,w within 56 days, finding the installed flooring system did not comply with the approved 5 star acoustic rating condition.

• The Owners-Strata Plan No. 86807 owners corp
• Crown Group Constructions Pty Ltd builder
• Crown W Pty Ltd developer

Leave was granted to the Owners Corporation to amend its technology and construction list statement to add a claim under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 for breach of duty of care regarding non-compliant cladding, conditional upon filing expert evidence by 15 June 2023 that the cladding did not comply with the Building Code of Australia.

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

The Appeal Panel dismissed the appellant's appeal and upheld the Tribunal's decision awarding costs to the respondent owners corporation, finding the appellant had engaged in wilful misconduct by conducting unauthorised renovation works in breach of stop-work orders and Tribunal directions.

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

The application for a stay of the order transferring proceedings to the District Court was dismissed on the basis that the Appeal Panel had no meaningful power to stay an order that took effect when made.

• Maurice Clifford Westerweller lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 18482 owners corp

The appeal against the Primary Decision was dismissed due to failure to file within time and no extension of time granted; the appeal against the Costs Decision was dismissed as leave to appeal was refused.

• Charles Cuthbert contractor
• The Owners - Strata Plan No. 34194 owners corp

The appeal was dismissed and leave to appeal was refused; the Owners' entitlement to recover $23,866.50 from the Contractor for rectification and completion of defective painting works was upheld.

• Parkview Constructions Pty Ltd builder
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 90018 owners corp
• The Quay Haymarket Pty Ltd developer

The appeal by the builder and developer against the primary judge's decision to allow the owners corporation to amend its statement to include three new alleged defects was dismissed, with the court holding that claims for breach of statutory warranties constitute a single cause of action for breach of contract rather than separate causes of action for each defect.

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

The Owners Corporation's Notice of Motion to reject or vary the referee's report was dismissed; the referee's finding that the C-Bracket Solution was the proper rectification methodology for defective sunshades was upheld.

• Michael Lehner lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 65870 owners corp

The appeal against a costs order was dismissed; the Tribunal properly exercised its discretion in awarding costs to the respondent where the appellant withdrew his application late in the hearing after a fatal flaw in his case was exposed.

• Hany Salib lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 20851 owners corp

The Tribunal found the owners corporation breached its duty to maintain common property but dismissed the applicant's claim for $53,770.00 in damages as the applicant failed to satisfy the Tribunal that he suffered any damage arising from the breach, and declined to make a work order due to insufficient evidence of a detailed scope of works.

• Robyn Szeto lot owner
• Kevin Brinsmead lot owner
• The Owners - Strata Plan No 1418 owners corp

The appeal was dismissed and the owners of lot 3 were ordered to pay the costs of the owners corporation on the ordinary basis, with the tribunal finding the owners failed to establish that loss of rent was reasonably foreseeable loss caused by the owners corporation's breach of statutory duty to maintain common property.

• Suzanne Lyon lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 11045 owners corp
• Ben Swanson lot owner

The Owners Corporation was ordered to take all necessary steps to require the owner of Lot 31 to comply with Special By-law 14 by reducing the pergola height to 2.7 metres within 6 months, and to clean the common property wall above the pergola within 2 months.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 54545 owners corp
• Nigel Hudson lot owner
• Patricia Stokes lot owner

The Appeal Panel refused leave to appeal and dismissed the appeal, upholding the Tribunal's decision that each party pay its own costs of the proceedings under section 60 of the NCAT Act.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 77109 owners corp
• Gokani-Robins Pty Ltd lot owner

The appeal by the Owners Corporation against the Tribunal's decision declaring Special By-Law 17 invalid as harsh, unconscionable or oppressive was dismissed.

CIVIL PROCEDURE — Summary disposal — Dismissal of proceedings — Frivolous or vexatious proceedings — where the plaintiff is a bankrupt — where the Trustee in bankruptcy had revoked his consent to the continuation of the proceedings against the first defendant — where the bankrupt objected to the dismissal of those proceedings — where the Court had previously ordered that the proceedings against each of the second and third defendants be dismissed — whether proceedings should be dismissed — proce

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

• Dimitri Haramis lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 51923 owners corp

The Owners Corporation was ordered to carry out acoustic insulation work to common property pipework and party wall between Units 40 and 41 in accordance with the Soundblock quotation scope of work before 3 April 2023 to remedy breach of duty to maintain common property and prevent offensive noise transmission into the lot owner's bedroom.

• Hua Nan Trading Pty Ltd lot owner
• The Owners – Strata Plan No 32396 owners corp

The appeal was upheld and the Tribunal's decisions were set aside; the proceedings were remitted for redetermination as the Tribunal had power under s 41 of the NCAT Act to extend the time for bringing proceedings for damages under s 106(6) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, and the application for access to records was overlooked.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 74232 owners corp
• Feride Tezel lot owner

The Court of Appeal allowed the owners corporation's appeal, finding that the lot owner's claim for loss of rent was statute-barred under section 106(6) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) because the two-year limitation period commenced when she first became aware of the loss in 2016, not when the breach was remedied.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 16857 owners corp
• Peter Barnett Hyman lot owner
• Janiene Hyman lot owner

The Appeal Panel ordered the appellant to pay the respondents' costs of the appeal on the ordinary basis, with costs to be levied only from contributions of lots not owned by the respondents.

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

The application to summarily dismiss the defendants' proportionate liability defence was dismissed; the Court held that section 5Q of the Civil Liability Act does not apply to non-delegable duties imposed by statute, and therefore the proportionate liability provisions are available to the defendants.

• Sunaust Properties Pty Ltd contractor
• The Owners Strata Plan no 64807 owners corp

The Respondent is to pay the Appellant's costs of the appeal and first instance proceedings on the ordinary basis, and the first instance costs order made on 28 March 2022 is set aside, but indemnity costs are declined and previous interlocutory costs orders are not vacated.

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

The appeal was dismissed and leave to appeal refused; the Tribunal's orders for removal of structures installed by the lot owner on common property without proper authorisation were upheld.

COSTS – misguided appeal with no prospects of success – plaintiff failure to comply with orders regarding service of evidence – incomprehensible affidavits – appeal commenced against multiple named defendants who were not relevant to the appeal – court’s time wasted

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

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 92183 owners corp
• Samdora Pty Ltd builder
• 3173 Pty Ltd developer
• MS Noun Construction Pty Ltd contractor
• Ghassan Nassif party
• Elie Chahwan party
• Omar Noun party

The court dismissed the second defendant's application for summary dismissal, finding that the settlement agreement did not incorporate the terms of the draft Deed of Settlement and the plaintiff's claims could proceed to trial.

REAL PROPERTY – STRATA MANAGEMENT – changes to common property – levies – Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) ss 24, 106, 108, 232 COSTS – nature of relief requires special circumstances – no special circumstances - Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) s 60, Civil and Administrative Tribunal Rules 2014 (NSW) r 38

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

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 2341 owners corp
• P & M Sachs Pty Ltd party

The respondent's application for costs of the appeal was dismissed as the Appeal Panel found there were no special circumstances warranting an award of costs against the self-represented appellant.

• The Owners-Strata Plan No 93227 owners corp
• In Style Developments Pty Ltd developer
• Arden CH (NSW) Pty Ltd developer

The Tribunal made work orders against both respondents requiring them to perform rectification works identified in the Scott Schedule and Building Work Rectification Order by 30 July 2023, with the application otherwise dismissed and costs to be determined separately.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No. 61285 owners corp
• Cameron Taylor lot owner
• The Commissioner of Fair Trading, Department of Finance, Services and Innovation government

The Tribunal ordered the respondent to pay a civil penalty of $3,850.00 to the Commissioner of Fair Trading for contravening a Tribunal order, and to pay the applicant $2,430.80 in costs.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 77109 owners corp
• Gokani-Robins Pty. Ltd. lot owner

The Appeal Panel made a costs order requiring the appellant to pay 20% of the respondent's costs of the stay application on the ordinary basis, finding special circumstances existed due to the appellant's late service of material but not warranting full indemnity costs.

• Lewis Elliot Franklin lot owner
• The Owners—Strata Plan No. 87497 owners corp

Paragraphs (1) and (2) of by-law 25 prohibiting cooking in lots were declared invalid as harsh, unconscionable and oppressive, being an unjustified blanket ban on cooking that limits fundamental property rights without protecting other occupants' use and enjoyment.

• The Owners - Strata Plan No 19341 owners corp
• Brian Charles Dehlsen lot owner

The Tribunal prescribed a common property rights by-law for the lot owner's 2005 renovations and ordered the respondent to waterproof the planter boxes within 3 months, but declined to find the work caused water penetration into lot 2.

• The Owners – Strata Plan No 89005 owners corp
• Thomas Stromer lot owner
• Simone Stromer lot owner
• Nathan Stromer lot owner
• Farad Electric Co Pty Ltd builder
• Mondan Management Pty Ltd (in liq) t/as Vic Lilli & Partners party
• Peter Smith Constructions Pty Limited consultant

Paragraphs 20 to 33 of the cross-claim were struck out as defectively pleaded, but the cross-claimant was given a further opportunity to amend the pleading to properly allege negligence by identifying specific actions a reasonable building supervisor would have taken to avoid the relevant risks of harm.