Question: A tenant has requested permission to store a stroller in the space under our stairs. We have concerns about safety or equity to use the space. How should the committee approach this request?
Our strata committee has been approached by a new tenant asking if she could store her baby’s stroller under the stairs in the entry foyer to our three storey 1930s building. While the space looks custom built for this purpose, no-one has stored anything there before.
While the committee sympathises with the needs of a young mum who lives on the second floor, members have raised questions about equity: what if the other young mother who lives on the third floor and stores her stroller in her car wants now wants to store her stroller under the stairs? What if residents then argue that they wish to store their bicycles there? In this space, there is only room for a single stroller.
Also, there is a bylaw that states that objects cannot be stored in the common area if they obstruct passage for fire safety purposes. This does not apply to one stroller being stored under the stairs.
How should the committee approach this request considering the equity issues that arise?
Answer: Owner(s) wishing to utilise the space should apply for a by-law for exclusive use or a licence (potentially with a fee).
This is not an uncommon problem and is compounded when you have disabled residents wishing to do the same. To maintain “equity” the owner(s) wishing to utilise that particular area of common property should apply for a by-law for exclusive use or a licence (potentially with a fee on a monthly or other basis).
This post appears in the April 2022 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Leanne Habib Premium Strata E: info@premiumstrata.com.au P: 02 9281 6440