This article discusses how student accommodation car park authority issues arise when a caretaker’s occupational authority to manage parking conflicts with owner concerns about by-law breaches.
Question: In student accommodation, the caretaker has an occupational authority to manage the car parking. They run this on a lottery system. Some owners complain this is a breach of by-laws. How can we move forward?
We have a 170 lot student-only accommodation building. The caretaker has an occupational authority (OA) over the common property security gated car park.
They manage the car park via a lottery system. Provided tenants can support their “student” status as specified in the Development Application (DA), they apply for a parking space each semester.
The caretaker also has a letting agency that handles the letting of approximately 80% of units to students. The remainder are either self-managed or managed by external agents.
A group of self-managed owners are concerned about the management of the car park. They believe the caretaker is breaching the by-laws by providing only some residents full access to the common property car park. Does the OA allow for the caretaker to manage the car park, or is this a by-law breach?
Answer: An option would be an information session for owners, residents and other interested parties about the myriad issues at play here.
This is not a query that can be simply answered with a general response. There are issues involving by-laws, occupational authority and several related matters, and it is impossible to give a determination on these things. It all depends upon the particular circumstances of your scheme – and each scheme is different. I’d recommend you seek specific legal advice.
Another option would be some kind of information session for owners, residents and other interested parties about the myriad issues at play here. While that would not offer a determination per se, it may assist in providing clarity to all concerned and ease some of the tensions.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
This post appears in the July 2023 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
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