Mackie v Henderson

The case of Mackie v Henderson involved a dispute regarding the validity of strata title bylaws that imposed height restrictions. The applicants, Mackie and Henderson, sought to challenge the bylaws enacted by the body corporate for their strata scheme, arguing that they were inconsistent with the nature of survey-strata schemes under the Strata Titles Act. The applicants further contended that the Strata Titles Tribunal (STT) should have invalidated and repealed the bylaws due to procedural deficiencies and errors. The court was tasked with determining the legality of the bylaws and the scope of the tribunal's discretion in such matters.

The central legal issue was whether the bylaws imposing height restrictions were inconsistent with the nature of survey-strata schemes as outlined in the Strata Titles Act. The court had to consider whether the bylaws were invalid and, if so, whether the tribunal should have invalidated and repealed them for procedural deficiencies and errors. Additionally, the court examined the effect of the agreement by the proprietors of both lots when enacting the bylaws.

In its reasoning, the court found that the bylaws were not inconsistent with the nature of survey-strata schemes and were therefore valid. Regarding the tribunal's discretion, the court held that the tribunal did not have the authority to invalidate and repeal bylaws for procedural deficiencies and errors. The agreement by the proprietors of both lots when enacting the bylaws was also considered significant in the outcome. As a result, the court dismissed the appeal on the first ground, refused the application for leave to appeal on grounds 2-8, allowed the application for leave to cross-appeal, and allowed the cross-appeal.

The final orders of the court were that the application for leave to appeal on the first ground was allowed, the appeal was dismissed on that ground, the application for leave to appeal on grounds 2-8 was refused, the application for leave to cross-appeal was allowed, and the cross-appeal was allowed.