ANDREWS and THE OWNERS OF CORALIE GARDENS STRATA PLAN 44374

In Andrews v The Owners of Coralie Gardens Strata Plan 44374, the court considered whether by-laws enacted by the respondent strata company could be used to levy contributions from the applicant, who had commenced unsuccessful legal proceedings against the company. The dispute centred on the interpretation and validity of certain strata by-laws that allowed the recovery of legal costs incurred in debt recovery processes and in actions against the strata company. The court was tasked with determining whether these by-laws could be applied to ongoing proceedings at the time they came into force, and whether they were inconsistent with the broader legislative framework, particularly the discretion to award costs.

The court first examined the temporal application of the by-laws to the proceedings that were already in motion when the by-laws were enacted. The applicant argued that the by-laws could not be applied retroactively to the proceedings that had started before their enactment. The court held that the by-laws could indeed apply to the proceedings that were ongoing at the time of their creation, as there was no explicit limitation in the by-laws preventing their retrospective application. The court also assessed whether the by-laws were inconsistent with the statutory provisions governing the award of costs. It found that the by-laws did not conflict with the statutory discretion to award costs, as the by-laws merely provided a mechanism for recovering costs incurred by the strata company, which was within the scope of permissible actions under the legislation.

The court's reasoning highlighted the importance of interpreting the strata legislation in a manner that aligns with its overall purpose and context. It underscored that the Tribunal's power to make declarations, as outlined in s 199 of the Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA), was broad and not restricted to the specific scenarios enumerated in s 199(3). This interpretation supported the validity of the by-laws, as they did not contravene any explicit statutory provisions. Consequently, the court found in favour of the respondent, validating the by-laws and allowing the recovery of costs from the applicant.

The court's decision confirmed that the by-laws were not invalid and could be applied to the applicant's proceedings, leading to the final order that the by-laws were upheld, and the applicant was liable for the litigation costs incurred by the respondent. This ruling reinforces the principle that strata by-laws, when properly enacted and in line with the legislative framework, can be used to recover costs from owners who have initiated unsuccessful proceedings against the strata company.