The Owners - Unit Plan No 3182 v Black and Anor

The Owners – Unit Plan No 3182 brought proceedings against Mr Black and his partner, Mrs Black, before the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) seeking payment of outstanding levies. The dispute arose from an obligation to pay levies for a unit in a strata scheme. The Tribunal found that the owners of the unit were liable to pay the levies and ordered the respondents to pay the outstanding amount within 28 days. The central issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicants were liable to pay the levies in question. The applicants argued that they were not liable to pay the levies because they had vacated the unit and terminated their ownership. The Tribunal considered the applicable provisions of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) and relevant case law. It found that the applicants remained liable for the levies, regardless of their vacating the unit, because they had not formally terminated their ownership of the unit in accordance with the Act. The Tribunal emphasised the importance of complying with statutory requirements to terminate ownership and the consequences of failing to do so. As a result, the Tribunal ordered the respondents to pay the outstanding levies within 28 days.