Renovation types & the process

Lot owners frequently request permission from the Owner's Corporation for property renovations within strata schemes. Recently, these requests have gained heightened attention and undergone substantial reform due to the complexities they can present, both in the immediate term and potentially well into the future, even after the individuals responsible for the renovations have departed.

Types Of Renovations In Strata

1. Cosmetic Works: Minor internal modifications with negligible impact on common property, such as hanging items, installing handrails, painting, carpeting, and non-structural joinery. Approval requirement: No specific strata approval needed.

2. Minor Renovations: Property modifications that moderately affect common property, including kitchen renovations, minor electrical work, non-structural wall changes, etc. Approval requirement: Strata committee approval is needed, provided the Owner's Corporation has a Minor Renovation bylaw. General meeting required if no such bylaw exists.

3. Major Renovations: Works that significantly alter the building's external appearance, involve structural changes, or affect waterproofing.  Common examples such as any bathroom renovation, internal wall removals, comprehensive bathroom renovations, or exterior structural additions. Approval requirement: Requires approval at a general meeting through a specific bylaw drafted by a suitably qualified legal expert.

Steps to approve minor and major renovations:

Applicants need to complete the renovation application form and provide all necessary supporting documents. The nature of application will be categorise in consultation with the Strata Committee and subject to this application will follow the following process and be subject to the costs outlined below:

Minor Renovations:

Approval of minor renovations will be subject to whether the building has already approved a bylaw granting the Strata Committee the authority to approve such applications. So depending on this:

1. Where the building has a pre-existing minor renovation bylaw in place granting the Strata Committee authority to approve these works, a Strata Committee meeting will be convened and the application considered for approval. Cost payable for this meeting will be $200 plus GST recovered from the applicant unless otherwise directed. Committee meetings generally take one week to convene subject to the availability of the committee.
2. Where the building does not have a minor renovation bylaw in place, a general meeting of the entire owners corporation will need to be called to consider the application. Costs of calling a general meeting will be $300 plus GST and allowing for mandatory notice periods will take at least 3 weeks to complete.

Air Conditioning and Hard Flooring Requests: Although technically classified as minor renovations, special attention may be warranted for commonly requested air conditioning and hard flooring installations. The unique acoustic and external implications of these works, such as equipment placement, external appearance preservation, water runoff direction, and noise regulation, can necessitate establishing specific bylaws to address these concerns. Pre-drafted bylaws tailored for these particular works are accessible as separate documents from the standard Minor Renovation bylaw.

Major Renovations

A purposed drafted bylaw will need to be prepared by a suitably qualified legal expert at the expense of the applicant. The owners corporation usually reserves the right to determine who will draft the bylaw to ensure it meets the needs of the building or if the applicant insist on using a certain service provider that the bylaw be independently reviewed at the cost of the applicant.  The bylaw will then need to be approved at a general meeting of the owners corporation at a costs of $300.00 plus GST allowing at least three weeks notice to call the meeting.  The works are technically not approved to proceed until the bylaw is registered at the cost of the applicant which may be subject to further time effort after the meeting has taken place.

Special note regarding bathroom renovation applications – Existing bylaws allow for works to be approved by modifying previously sanctioned bylaws for similar works in other units. This approach eliminates the necessity of drafting additional bylaws and consolidates repetitive items within the building's bylaws. Your Strata Manager can guide you regarding the availability of these bylaws and their utilization.

Additional notes:

• The estimated application costs mentioned above are based on the expectation of reasonable effort throughout the application process. Costs may escalate if the applicant fails to promptly provide all necessary information or if there is excessive questioning of subject matter.
• Typically, the applicant bears the costs unless there is a mutual agreement between the applicant and the committee stating otherwise.

Table Summary of Renovation Approval:

Renovation	Approval requirement	Cost (approx)	Estimated time to approve
Cosmetic Works	No strata approval necessary and works may proceed as long as they comply with category or works	Nil	N/A
Minor Renovation (with bylaw in place)	Strata Committee authorised to approve (recommended via a strata committee meeting)	$200.00 Plus GST	Allow one to two weeks for SC deliberations and to schedule an SC meeting (3 days notice)
Minor Renovation (no bylaw in place)	General Meeting of the Owners Corporation.	$300.00 plus GST	EGM needs three weeks minimum notice so allow at least 4 weeks noting time to schedule and prepare meeting agendas
Major Renovation	Specific bylaw needs to be drafted and then approved at a general meeting of the Owners Corporation	$300.00 plus GST for the meeting plus Bylaw costs and registration (fees to be estimated at the time, but assume no less than $1500.00 plus GST).	EGM needs three weeks minimum notice so allow at least 4 weeks noting time to schedule and prepare meeting agendas (from the time the bylaw is drafted)

Frequently Asked Questions