The Owners-Strata Plan No 6534 v El Khouri

The Owners-Strata Plan No 6534 brought an appeal against an adjudicator's decision that dismissed their application to reinstate By-law 2, which had been repealed. The dispute was heard in the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales. The central issue before the court was whether the applicants, who were unit owners in the Strata Plan, were entitled to vote on the reinstatement of By-law 2 at the general meeting, despite their units not being fully paid for. The tribunal considered the relevant legislation and previous case law to determine the eligibility of the applicants to vote.

The tribunal ruled that the applicants, despite their outstanding payments, were entitled to vote on the reinstatement of By-law 2. The court held that the legislation did not explicitly exclude unit owners with outstanding payments from voting on general meetings, and therefore, the applicants were entitled to participate. The tribunal also dismissed the applicants' request for repairs and affirmed the adjudicator's decision to dismiss the application for reinstatement of By-law 2. The tribunal ordered the making of a new By-law, as set out in motion 10 in the notice of the annual general meeting on 4 December 2013. The tribunal ordered the Owners Corporation to register the By-law with the Registrar General and that the applicant would bear all costs of registration.

The appeal was dismissed, and the orders of the Adjudicator were affirmed. The application for reinstatement of repealed By-law 2 was dismissed. The application for repairs was also dismissed. The tribunal prescribed the making of a By-law in the terms set out as motion 10 in the notice of annual general meeting on 4 December 2013, a copy of which is attached to these orders. The Owners Corporation is forthwith to do all acts and things necessary to register the By-law with the Registrar General. The applicant is to pay and bear all costs of the registration of the By-law.