How Does the Body Corporate Renovation Approval Process Work?

When considering renovations to a Lot, many owners don’t realise there are many factors that need to be taken into account before proceeding with renovations to your Lot, after all; you own the Lot, and you can do whatever you like, right? Well, if you own a freestanding house, maybe you can! But in the land of a body corporate and strata communities, there are rules and regulations to be followed before any work can commence.

So, where do you start?

You need to determine what work is to be carried out and who you want to complete the work for you. Once you have a quotation from your preferred contractor for the work, ensure it includes the full scope of work to be completed.
You need to find out what approvals you may require from the body corporate and other entities such as your local city council.

When looking into body corporate approval requirements, you need to review your body corporate by-laws to find out what rules you and your contractors need to follow. Usually, there will be various by-laws pertaining to the visual appearance of the property, noise, parking, etc. and some of you may think ‘how does noise or parking come into this topic’?

When considering what approvals you need from the body corporate, we are not only looking for by-laws that relate to the type of work, but we are also looking for by-laws that relate to how that work may be carried out. For example, jackhammering tiles are extremely noisy, and your tradies need somewhere to park, so it’s important to consider all by-laws to determine exactly which ones you need to enforce with your contractors and which ones outline that you need body corporate approvals.

Remember, if in doubt reach out to your Body Corporate Manager for guidance – they will be able to point you in the right direction.

As an example, most people would not think changing their floor from carpet to timber floors inside their bedroom would be an issue, but this change can affect the way that foot traffic noise travels and may cause unreasonably high levels of noise for neighbours – this becomes a breach of the noise by-law and the body corporate can take action to have the flooring reversed or altered at the Lot owners expense to rectify the issue, so it’s best to check in with your Body Corporate Manager or submit an application anyway. Even if an improvement or change to a lot does not need approval under a by-law, an owner should consider how the change would affect others in the scheme, including neighbours.

“I have my quote, I’ve reviewed my by-laws and I know that I need written body corporate approval for this project, so how do I seek approval?“

I thought you’d never ask! At Capitol, we have a quick and easy application process for improvements to your lot. Head to our website (www.capitolbca.com.au), hover over the ‘Resources’ tab then select ‘Online Forms’ and click on ‘General Improvement Request’ or, click here. Fill in the form and don’t forget to attach copies of any quotes, plans, diagrams, drawings, etc. then click submit. It’s that easy!

Our team will present your application to the committee to get the approval process started and continue to liaise with you regarding the application. For further information, you may like to read this article from the Office of the Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management – Owner Improvements.

Another important item to factor in with your renovations is what impact that may have on the body corporate or your contents insurance policies. Once the works are completed, you should provide details to your Body Corporate Manager so that they can notify the body corporate insurer of the changes and the policy can be amended if needed to cover the improved items. Where the policy premium is increased to cover these improvements, the Lot Owner will often be responsible for the additional cost.

So, the next time you’re thinking about renovating your lot, don’t forget to seek necessary approvals before commencing work and if in doubt, reach out!