Uren & Anor v The Owners - Units Plan No 396

In the case of Uren & Anor v The Owners - Units Plan No 396, the applicants sought approval from the owners corporation for the construction of an extension to their dwelling. When the owners corporation refused to approve the proposed extension, the applicants turned to the Tribunal under section 129 of the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011. The Tribunal was required to decide whether the opposition to the motion at the meeting of the owners corporation was unreasonable.

The central legal issue for the Tribunal was whether the opposition to the motion was unreasonable, and if so, whether the Tribunal should make an order giving effect to the unsuccessful motion. The Tribunal noted that under section 129 of the Act, there is a two-stage process in making a tribunal order. First, the Tribunal must conduct a merits review of the proposal, and second, determine whether the opposition to the motion was unreasonable. The Tribunal found that the merits review was not required in this case as the proposal had already been approved by ACTPLA in response to a development application. The Tribunal then considered whether the opposition to the motion was unreasonable, and found that it was.

The Tribunal found that the opposition to the motion was unreasonable because it was not supported by any evidence or logical reasoning. The Tribunal noted that the owners corporation had not provided any reasons for their opposition, and that their decision was likely based on a desire to avoid any potential inconvenience to the owners of Unit 4. The Tribunal concluded that this was not a sufficient reason to oppose the motion, and that the opposition was therefore unreasonable. As a result, the Tribunal made an order giving effect to the unsuccessful motion, subject to certain conditions.

The Tribunal ordered that the owners corporation approve the proposed extension to Unit 3, subject to two conditions. First, the design of the new window in Bedroom 3 must be provided to the body corporate for approval by the owners of Unit 4. Second, the applicants must ensure that, during the period of construction of the extension, all of their vehicles and vehicles of their invitees must be parked on the applicants’ property, in the designated visitor parking spaces, or outside the common areas of Units Plan No 396. These vehicles must not be parked in the common areas of the access road and the turning circle, or so as to impede vehicle access to Unit 4. The parties and the owners of Unit 4 have liberty to apply in respect of these conditions. There is no order as to costs.