A notice to comply lands in the letterbox, or a request to keep a dog on the balcony gets knocked back by the committee, and the same question follows: is this by-law actually enforceable, or is it something the scheme has simply always assumed applies? For lot owners and the owners corporations that manage them, by-laws sit at the centre of more strata disputes than almost anything else, covering pets, parking, renovations, noise, smoking and short-term letting. What a by-law can actually say, and what an owners corporation can do if someone breaks one, comes from the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), and both are narrower than many schemes assume.
Every strata scheme in NSW has by-laws, whether it is running on the model by-laws set out in the Strata Schemes Management Regulation, a customised version of them, or a fully bespoke set adopted over the years by special resolution. By-laws can govern the use of lots and common property: parking allocations, renovation approval processes, noise, smoking, pets and the appearance of balconies and gardens are all common examples. What they cannot do is set out in section 139 of the Act, and it is a shorter list than most people expect.
A by-law must not be harsh, unconscionable or oppressive. This is the ground most disputes turn on, and it has real teeth: a blanket ban on pets, for example, is generally treated as harsh and oppressive because it does not allow for any individual assessment, and current NSW Government guidance confirms a by-law cannot stop a resident owning a pet unless that particular animal unreasonably interferes with other residents. A by-law also cannot prohibit or restrict the sale, lease, mortgage or other dealing with a lot, cannot prohibit anyone under 18 from occupying a lot (except in retirement villages or housing exclusively for older residents), cannot affect an assistance animal's ability to do its job, and, outside heritage-listed buildings or heritage conservation areas, cannot be used to block sustainability infrastructure purely because of how it looks. Where a by-law falls foul of any of these limits, it can be challenged.
Any owner can propose a new by-law, or a change to an existing one. The process starts with a motion and a short explanatory note, capped at 300 words, put to the secretary in time for the next general meeting, then a vote. Unless it is a common property by-law that grants an individual owner rights or privileges, in which case written consent from every affected owner is also required, a new or amended by-law needs a special resolution: no more than 25% of the votes cast can be against it. Passing the resolution is not the end of the process. The owners corporation must then register the change with NSW Land Registry Services within six months, and until that registration happens, the change has no legal effect at all. Miss the six-month window and the resolution simply lapses, meaning the scheme has to start again.
Received a notice to comply, or think a by-law being enforced against you doesn't hold up?
Whether you're an owners corporation deciding whether to escalate to NCAT or a lot owner weighing up a challenge, our Strata and Community Title team can assess the by-law's validity and the strongest next step before you commit to a Tribunal application.
Free consultationEnforcement is meant to escalate, not jump straight to a tribunal. In practice, most owners corporations start informally: a conversation, or a letter from the committee or strata manager, asking for the breach to stop. If that does not resolve things, the next formal step is a notice to comply under section 146 of the Act. Before it can be issued, a resolution approving the notice, or the type of notice for that kind of breach, has to be passed at a general meeting or by the strata committee, a step that does not apply to two-lot schemes, which are exempt from that resolution requirement. The notice itself must attach a copy of the specific by-law and give the owner or occupier a reasonable period to comply, commonly around 28 days.
If the breach continues, the owners corporation has two main options. It can seek mediation through NSW Fair Trading, a free service intended to resolve the dispute without a tribunal hearing, or, if it wants to pursue a civil penalty rather than just an order to stop, it can apply directly to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). NCAT can order a person to comply and, separately, can impose a monetary penalty for the breach itself. The maximum penalty available depends on the type of by-law and on whether it is a first or repeat contravention, but fines can run into the thousands of dollars, and the maximum increases for a further contravention of the same by-law within 12 months. An application for that first penalty has to be filed within 12 months of the notice being given, so an owners corporation that sits on a breach for too long can lose the option. Ignoring a Tribunal order altogether can attract a further, separate penalty.
The reverse also applies. A lot owner who thinks a by-law is invalid, rather than simply inconvenient, is not limited to arguing that in defence of a penalty application. Under section 150 of the Act, an owner entitled to vote on the by-law, or the lessor of a leasehold scheme, can apply to NCAT directly for an order declaring the by-law invalid, typically on the basis that the owners corporation had no power to make it in the first place, or that it is harsh, unconscionable or oppressive. If NCAT agrees, the order takes effect as though it were itself a by-law repealing the one in question, once recorded.
Procedural defects are common, and they matter. A notice to comply that does not attach the by-law it relies on, or that was issued without the owners corporation or strata committee first passing the required resolution, is open to challenge on that basis alone, independent of whether the underlying conduct actually breached the by-law. Before assuming a notice is valid, both sides are better placed checking it was issued correctly than arguing the substance first.
The by-law rules in this article come from a single NSW Act, so the process for making, changing and enforcing a by-law is exactly the same whether a scheme sits in Bondi or Bathurst. What genuinely differs from region to region is the age and character of the local strata stock, and that shapes which disputes tend to come up.
Some of Sydney's oldest strata schemes sit in the Eastern Suburbs and on the North Shore, many with by-laws adopted well before the 2015 Act and, in some cases, before its 1996 and 1973 predecessors. Legacy by-laws drafted under an earlier, less permissive regime, such as blanket pet bans or rigid renovation restrictions, are exactly the kind of rule now vulnerable to challenge under the harsh, unconscionable or oppressive test.
Growth corridors including The Hills, Campbelltown and Liverpool are adding new strata schemes at pace, partly on the back of planning reforms that permit more medium-density and apartment development close to town centres and stations. Newer schemes are more often working through their first full set of by-laws rather than disputing decades-old ones, which tends to produce a different kind of dispute: disagreement over what a newly adopted by-law was actually meant to cover, rather than whether an old one has aged out of validity.
The same pattern is visible in Wollongong, where medium-density and infill strata development has been steady for some years. Outside these growth areas, and across regional NSW more broadly, the by-law regime does not change at all: the same Act, the same restrictions and the same NCAT process apply to a small coastal or country scheme exactly as they do to a Sydney tower.
Whether you are an owners corporation weighing up enforcement action or a lot owner who has just been served a notice to comply, getting early advice on whether the by-law itself will hold up is usually more valuable than getting advice after a Tribunal application has already been filed. Our Strata and Community Title team advises owners corporations, strata committees and individual lot owners across NSW on by-law disputes, from drafting through to NCAT representation. Get in touch for a free consultation.
This publication is intended as general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Please seek independent legal advice before acting on anything contained in it.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
Not directly. Only the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal can impose a monetary penalty for a by-law breach, and only after the owners corporation has issued a notice to comply and applied to the Tribunal. A committee can issue warnings and notices, but cannot itself impose a fine.
A formal notice under section 146 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, given by an owners corporation to an owner or occupier it believes has breached a specified by-law. It must attach a copy of that by-law and generally follows a resolution approving its issue.
Penalties depend on the type of by-law and on whether it is a first or repeat breach, but fines can run into the thousands of dollars, with higher maximums for a repeat breach within 12 months and for certain categories of by-law. Ignoring a Tribunal order altogether can attract a further, separate penalty.
Yes. Under section 150 of the Act, an owner entitled to vote on the by-law can apply to NCAT for an order declaring it invalid, usually on the basis that it is harsh, unconscionable or oppressive, or that the owners corporation had no power to make it.
Yes. By-laws bind owners, tenants and other occupiers of a lot. Landlords must give tenants a copy of the by-laws before the rental contract is signed, and a tenant can be issued a notice to comply, or face NCAT action, in the same way as an owner.
Generally no. Current NSW Government guidance treats a blanket pet ban as harsh, unconscionable or oppressive because it allows no individual assessment. A scheme can still refuse or restrict a specific animal that unreasonably interferes with other residents.
It depends on the scheme's meeting cycle, but the core steps are fixed: a motion and explanatory note submitted ahead of a general meeting, a special resolution requiring no more than 25% of votes against, then registration with NSW Land Registry Services within six months or the change lapses.
Check it was issued correctly, including a copy of the by-law and, where required, a prior resolution, before assuming it is valid, then get advice quickly. Time limits apply to any later Tribunal penalty application, so early advice affects the options still available to you.
