Pafburn Pty Limited (ACN 003 485 505) & Anor v The Owners Strata Plan No 84674

Pafburn Pty Limited and another party (the appellants) appealed to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal concerning the interpretation of a strata plan and the rights of lot owners within that plan. The dispute centred on whether the appellants, as owners of certain lots within the strata plan, were entitled to exclusive use and occupation of common property, specifically a courtyard area. The Owners Strata Plan No 84674 (the respondent) contended that the courtyard was common property and could not be exclusively possessed by individual lot owners.

The High Court was required to determine whether the terms of the strata plan, read in conjunction with the *Strata Schemes Management Act 2015* (NSW) and its predecessor legislation, conferred exclusive use rights over common property upon the owners of specific lots. This involved considering the nature of strata title, the definition of common property, and the circumstances under which exclusive use of common property could be lawfully granted or recognised within a strata scheme. The court also had to assess whether the specific wording and structure of the strata plan in question supported the appellants' claim to exclusive possession.

The Court unanimously dismissed the appeal, holding that the strata plan did not grant the appellants exclusive use and occupation of the courtyard. The majority reasoned that the courtyard was unequivocally designated as common property under the strata plan and the relevant legislation. They emphasised that for exclusive possession of common property to arise, there must be a clear and unambiguous provision within the strata plan or a valid by-law authorising such exclusive use, which was absent in this instance. The Court affirmed the principle that common property is for the benefit of all lot owners and cannot be appropriated for the exclusive use of one or a few without proper legal authorisation.

The appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal was affirmed.