Feitelson v The Owners - Strata Plan No. 63429

In the case of Feitelson v The Owners - Strata Plan No. 63429, the applicant, Mr Feitelson, sought an order to compel the respondents, the owners corporation of the strata plan, to carry out necessary maintenance and repairs to the common property. The dispute arose due to the owners corporation's failure to maintain the common property in compliance with section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW). This non-compliance led to damages and a decline in the property's value, affecting the applicant's interests.

The central legal issues the court had to resolve were whether the owners corporation had failed to carry out its obligations under section 106 of the SSMA, and if so, what orders should be made to compel the respondents to address these failures. The court also needed to determine the validity of several by-laws proposed by the respondents and whether these by-laws should be prescribed or declared invalid.

In its decision, the court found that the owners corporation had indeed failed to maintain the common property in compliance with the SSMA, leading to the applicant's claim for damages. The court ordered the respondents to carry out the necessary maintenance and repairs, specifying the scope of work and the standards to be met. Additionally, the court prescribed a new by-law proposed by the respondents and declared several existing by-laws invalid, ordering the respondents to record and register these changes within 28 days. The court’s reasoning was based on a detailed analysis of the SSMA and the evidence presented regarding the maintenance issues and the proposed by-laws.

The final orders included directions for the respondents to undertake specific maintenance tasks, prescribe a new by-law, and declare several existing by-laws invalid. The respondents were also required to record and register these changes within a stipulated timeframe.