Tips for Renovating your Strata-Titled Property

If you purchase a conventional house, renovating is fairly straightforward; you may need to confirm with the council that your planned renovations fit within local regulation – for example if it’s okay to put that second floor on the home – but otherwise, you can basically do whatever you like with your property.

A property that you buy within an apartment block is different. It will be covered by strata, and therefore, you need to consider the impact that your renovations will have on other properties around you. More particularly, you’ll need to get permission for almost everything you do from the corporation.

Dealing with the Owners Corporation

Breaking things down; when it comes to a strata-titled property, you own everything within the unit itself. So you can do what you like with the carpets, the fixtures (taps, baths, etc), non structural inside walls, and so on. Everything else; the outside walls, floorboards, ceiling, load-bearing columns or walls, electrical wiring that services more than one lot, doors that face the outside, and so on, is owned by the corporation, and you can’t just start altering that on a whim.

Never start a renovation that affects anything that the corporation has oversight into without permission, first. It’s a good idea to closely read the by-laws resolutions and or articles to first understand what is and isn’t allowed with renovations. But even if something that you’d like to do to the property lands within the boundaries of what the by-laws resolutions and or articles allow for, don’t start on a renovation project without asking first.

Understand that getting strata approval for renovations can be a slow process. Allow up to two months for the process, because the corporation will need to vote on each item at a meeting. If it’s approved,the approval will be provided to you in writing in the form of meeting minutes, which clearly outlines the scope of the renovations and what you’re required to do, before commencing work.

Be informative and planned

One thing that can significantly help in smoothing the approval process is to do the research yourself and be meticulous in your planning. Outline exactly what work you’re looking to undertake, what tradespeople you’ll need for the job, and any expected impacts that the work will have – whether that be noise, or the need to shut power or water off for a period. This is especially true if any of the impacts from the work will affect other properties than your own.

If you can submit a detailed plan showing times, lengths of the project, and so on, the corporation will have to do less of this work themselves, and you are more likely to receive approval

‘Make sure you get council’s approval too

Many people get strata approval, and then forget that they’ll also need to seek council approval for anything more than cosmetic changes to the property. This is a separate approval, and will require different oversight and regulation, so make sure that you’ve got formal permission from your council before you start, too. Again, get it in writing.

Talk to your neighbours and hear them out

No one likes having to listen to workmen drilling and blasting music out of their portable music players for days on end. Through your renovations, you do have a responsibility not to disrupt the lives of your neighbours as much as possible, and this means keeping control over the tradespeople that you contract. They need to keep the noise to a minimum (and this means telling them they can’t be rocking out to music while they work), they need to be respectful of common areas and keep them clean (no using the halls and stairways as dumping grounds). They also can’t be working too late, and need to strictly keep to noise laws there.

Even if you do all you can to minimise noise, it’s still going to be disruptive. It’s the nature of renovation work, and while most people are busy during daylight hours, any neighbours that work at home, have a day off, have a newborn baby, or so on, can be very aggrieved by this noise.

Communicating your plans clearly with your neighbours is critical, and listening to their concerns is important. Without trying to do right by them, they can easily throw a spanner in the works when trying to get strata approval. It’s a good idea, before even submitting the project to the corporation for approval, to have a conversation with the neighbours who will be most affected by your renovation works, to explain to them what you’re doing, and ensure that they’re happy to tolerate the noise or other impacts of the work.

Make sure you plan for accidents

The renovations themselves are going to be costly enough, but make sure that you have some money in reserve, because while the renovations are being undertaken, you’re also responsible for any damage that occurs to common property, and accidents can happen.

It’s unlikely that you’re going to be able to work damage to common property into any contract you form with a tradesperson (but it’s worth trying), but there are all kinds of examples of things going wrong through renovations. A window breaks from some wayward refuse being thrown away. The paint on a neighbour’s entry door is accidentally scratched when carting new fixtures in for the interior. The electrician accidentally causes a power surge through the entire block.

For this reason, even if you don’t necessarily need approval for a renovation; for example you’re changing the carpets or inside fixtures, it’s still a good idea to make neighbours aware of what you’re doing and allow them to discuss the potential disruptions that you’ll cause them. You’re still liable for any damages or impact to the common living environment, and letting people know before launching into renovations is a good way to prevent long-term conflict down the track.

This is especially true given that you’ll often want to make the biggest renovations when you first move in. The last thing you should want to do is get off on a bad foot with your neighbours, with long-term bad feelings that can affect your enjoyment of the property, and your relationship with those around you and the owner’s corporation, over the longer term.

The reality with owning apartments and other spaces that are governed by strata laws is that you can’t simply do what you like to the property. You’ll need to be considerate for those around you, and make sure that you comply with the by-laws, resolutions and articles that you agreed to when purchasing the property. If you ensure that everything is above board and your corporation have approved your plans, then renovating should be a breeze.