Community Title
8. The Management Statement
Authors: Staff Legal Eagle
Firm / Chambers:
Last updated: 07 Jul 2015
- The legislation gives the association a lot of flexibility in how it can run the community scheme.
- Some schemes may be centred on themes and ideals that make them distinctive and unique. Reading the management statement before purchasing will help you make sure that you know what you are getting into and that it is something you can live with. For example:
- you could have a pirate themed community in which all the houses are shaped like ships and boats and there are theme days where everyone has to dress up like pirates and get into community spirit; or
- you could have a community that is centred on ‘green’ ideals where owners and residents are required to participate in seminars, work in communal gardens and use recycled water.
- A management statement essentially dictates how the particular community scheme operates. It sets out the by-laws and any other details necessary to regulate such a large and complex scheme.
- There are no model by-laws prescribed by the legislation for community title schemes.
- All community titles must have their own management statement and each is unique to suit the specific requirements of the individual community whether it be a retirement village, resort, gated community, commercial village or some other community, precinct or neighbourhood scheme.
- By-laws that are incorporated into a management statement can be quite extensive, restrictive and unpredictable. The only things excluded from being regulated under a management scheme are rules which:
- affect your ability to have a guide dog or hearing dog on the lot premises or association property;
- are discriminatory; or
- exclude public housing from a scheme.
- A management statement usually covers the following areas:
- any theme of the development – the by-laws in this section might specify:
- who can live there. Section 17 of the Community Land Management Act 1989 (NSW) allows for by-laws fixing details of development including limiting occupancy to a class of persons such as a by-law for a retirement village restricting residence to persons over 55 years old; and
- the architectural, building or landscaping styles to be used and the types of material allowable for extensions and other structures;
- any restricted property by-laws:
- section 54 of the Community Land Management Act 1989 (NSW) allows for by-laws restricting the use of some property to certain proprietors or subsidiary associations. An example might be limiting the use of a swimming pool to residents of one neighbourhood scheme within a large community scheme;
- the management statement may also contain by-laws requiring the benefited residents to maintain the association property or pay an extra fee for its maintenance;
- restricted property by-laws can also be used to give the developer exclusive access to areas of association property that are still under construction; and
- restricted property by-laws must contain all the details necessary for their operation;
- mandatory matters which must be regulated in every management statement including:
- by-laws governing access to the property and private roads within the property including parking, speed limits and security provisions;
- by-laws regulating the use and maintenance of special facilities such as recreational areas and meeting areas that give rise to conditions requiring regulation from hours of use to dress codes;
- by-laws for the maintenance of external fencing particularly in a neighbourhood scheme where individual lot owners have responsibility for their fences. These by-laws will allow the association to ensure consistency of appearance and set quality standards;
- by-laws specifying duties and obligations for garbage deposit and collection;
- by-laws setting out responsibility for repair and maintenance of services and the associated obligation for costs;
- by-laws stipulating the types of insurance to be taken out by the association for association property and by individual lot owners for areas which are their personal responsibility; and
- by-laws concerning the constitution and proceedings of the executive committee;
- optional matters specific to the needs of the scheme to address details such as:
- keeping of pets;
- noise control;
- laundry issues;
- cleanliness;
- what constitutes nuisance and how to deal with it;
- safety and security issues;
- the creation of easements and accessways; and
- provision for meetings of the association;
- any by-laws required by the local council or a government agency.
- Each section within the management statement also has specific rules on when and how it can be changed:
- by-laws affecting the theme of the development require a unanimous resolution of the relevant community, precinct or neighbourhood association before they can be amended or revoked;
- by-laws restricting the use of association property can only be amended after the expiry of the initial period and then only by a special resolution accompanied by written permission from those entitled to use the restricted property under the by-law;
- by-laws dealing with mandatory or optional matters can be revoked or amended by a special resolution of the association; and
- by-laws imposed by a public authority can only be revoked or amended by a special resolution of the association with the consent of the public authority.
- A unanimous resolution requires a 100% vote. That means no one at the meeting objected to the resolution.
- A special resolution requires a 75% vote based on unit entitlements. This means more than three-quarters of the total unit entitlements present at the meeting voted in favour of the resolution.
- The number of unit entitlements held by each lot owner is specified on the plan for the scheme.
View more Information on Conveyancing & Property