{"id":933,"date":"2020-05-14T08:41:00","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T22:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.abkj.com.au\/articles\/?p=824"},"modified":"2025-10-08T13:11:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T03:11:31","slug":"when-did-you-last-review-your-schemes-bylaws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.abkj.com.au\/articles\/when-did-you-last-review-your-schemes-bylaws\/","title":{"rendered":"When Did You Last Review Your Scheme\u2019s Bylaws?"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

Whilst perhaps not the most exciting topic to most people, body corporate committees need to actively review their bylaws from time to time. The bylaws are one of a community title scheme\u2019s most important elements.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

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For most schemes, the bylaws are those provisions that appear in schedule C of the scheme\u2019s registered community management statement (“CMS”). If your scheme does not have any bylaws in its CMS, then in most cases the bylaws will be the standard bylaws contained in Schedule 3 of the Body Corporate and Community Management Act<\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Owners & Occupiers<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Bylaws provide for the management of the common property, and the regulation of the use and enjoyment of lots and common properly, among other things.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

They are binding on the body corporate, owners and occupiers in the scheme, in essence as if each of those parties had signed a contract agreeing to comply with the bylaws.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

From an owner\u2019s or an occupier\u2019s perspective, they are important as they are the rules which owners and occupiers must abide by if they wish to live in the scheme. Owners and occupiers should familiarise themselves with a scheme\u2019s bylaws before choosing to live at a particular scheme.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Body corporates<\/h2>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

From the body corporate\u2019s perspective, bylaws are important as they provide the basis of regulation. If the body corporate wishes to regulate a particular issue, it does so through the bylaws. Broadly speaking, a body corporate cannot enforce rules created by the committee (often called “house rules”) or an individual on the committee \u2013 regulation can only come from a registered and valid bylaw.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Unless a committee can refer to a relevant, valid bylaw to support an action against an owner or occupier who in the committee\u2019s eyes is not behaving appropriately, the action will be doomed to failure. A person not behaving appropriately could for example be someone who’s keeping a pet without permission, parking on common property, undertaking unauthorised works, engaging in antisocial behaviour and so on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

The legislation does place some limitations upon what the bylaws can do. For example:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n