The Owners – Strata Plan No. 550 v Artuphel [2025] NSWCATCD 82

A recent decision of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (“NCAT”) sheds light on the importance of seeking approval from an owners corporation before undertaking works in a strata scheme.

Background

The Applicant in these proceedings is The Owners – Strata Plan No. 550 (“the owners corporation”) and the Respondent, Mr Artuphel is a lot owner of lot 1 in Strata Plan No 550 (“the strata scheme”).

The circumstances of the case are that Mr Artuphel allegedly noticed water pooling in a garden bed of the strata scheme which he claimed was caused by leaking common property waste pipes. This discovery allegedly led to him undertaking works to the bathroom and connected common property of his ground floor lot which he sought to characterise as urgent repairs. However, the owners corporation disputed this fact and brought an application that the works were defective renovations undertaken without its approval and that the leaking pipes were only discovered upon Mr Artuphel carrying out these works.

Decision

The owners corporation had to prove on the balance of probabilities that the works undertaken by Mr Artuphel were not urgent repairs and rather renovations done without the approval of the owners corporation for the purpose of satisfying the requirements of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) (“SSMA”).

Mr Artuphel tried to defend the application by raising the argument he did not seek to renovate the bathroom or alter it, the works were necessitated by broken common property waste pipes. However, the Tribunal stated this may have been relevant in an application to the Tribunal by Mr Artuphel to order the owners corporation to approve works carried out under ss 126(1) or (2) of the SSMA or under s 149(1)(a). However, this was not the application before the Tribunal in this instance.

Ultimately, the question before the Tribunal in this application was whether the work carried out by Mr Artuphel was urgent, merely cosmetic, or a renovation requiring approval of the owners corporation to be permitted under the SSMA. The Tribunal found it was satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Mr Artuphel had undertaken the works to common property, that urgency was not established, and the works were not merely cosmetic in nature as it included waterproofing and plumbing. Therefore, Mr Artuphel had breached s 111 of the SSMA by not properly obtaining the owners corporation’s approval before undertaking the works. Accordingly, the Tribunal ordered Mr Artuphel was responsible for reinstating the bathroom to as near as practicable to its previous condition and ensuring these works are carried out by an appropriately qualified and licensed contractor. 

Key Takeaways

Before you do any works ensure you get proper approval from the owners corporation. If you are unsure whether your proposed works require approval, please contact Bannermans Lawyers and we will happily assist.   

Prepared by Bannermans Lawyers

21 November 2025