Body Corporate woes...

[joe13579]

Hi all! Long, long lurker, first time poster. A bit of an odd first post, but I was hoping some of you here might have experience with this...

My body corp sent me a letter asking me not to hang my laundry on my balcony. Technically the balcony is a "shared" walkway, but as I'm at the end of the property, there's nobody walking past. Doesn't actually face the street either, just faces a communal garden area. They claim it breaches the "model rules" (?).

I've always hung 'presentable' clothes (never undies), only shirts/pants on a small portable rack. Much better than a clothes dryer, both for the environment and for the condition of the clothes.

I live in a rather small apartment, 10 residents in all. Unfortunately, I'm the only one who does it. I think everyone else just uses dryers. Although nobody's ever spoken to me about it before.

Is there any way I could fight this? I'll probably reduce the number of times I hang the clothes, or even get some sort of cover for the balcony. Or if I just ignore the letter, or drag my feet, can the body corp do anything against me?

 

[datto]

Joe, don't hang the clothes on the balcony. I know it's a pain in the butt to hang them inside but it looks like someone in the complex is on your case.

See if you can catch someone breaking the by laws eg unlawful parking or excessively loud flatulence and dob them in. In the end (lol) you will have the most peaceful complex in the 'hood. Cheers and good luck.

 

[Norwester]

Joe,

These are the legislated model rules.......

10 Hanging out of washing

(1) An owner or occupier of a lot may hang any washing on any lines provided by the owners corporation for that purpose. Such washing may only be hung for a reasonable period.
(2) An owner or occupier of a lot may hang washing on any part of the lot provided that the washing will not be visible from street level outside the parcel.
(3) An owner or occupier of a lot may hang washing on any part of the lot that will be visible from street level outside the parcel only if the owner or occupier has the prior written approval of the owners corporation.
(4) In this clause:
washing includes any clothing, towel, bedding or other article of a similar type.

But realise that the body corp will add its own take to this if it wishes to......

I would write back(politely) and just ask which rule......

Unless of course you got one of these.........

Ciao

Nor

 

[marg4000]

This is fairly common in unit buildings to preserve the look of the complex. We have owned units in complexes and all have had this ruling.

Balconies festooned with laundry is not a good look.

If the area is a shared walkway, then it is common property and not yours anyway.
Marg

 

[Perp]

Yes, pretty standard not to be able to hang washing visible outside your unit, when you have a body corporate.

 

[Jamie M]

Aghhh body corps can be annoying.

I agree that this is pretty standard though - looks like someone isn't a fan of your "presentable" clothes

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Macca]

Very common by law even if on your own patio/verandah, to put it on common property is a definite breach of our BC rules.

 

[BayView]

It's a terrible look.

 

[joe13579]

I was thinking of giving a perfunctory reply and then just ignore the letter, but tone down my "hanging activities" a bit (ie. hang out clothes only a few hours during Sunday, conceal my balcony with covering, use a smaller clothes rack - basically ensure that nobody can even see the rack unless they walk up to my door).

Do body corps usually have a lot of bite or exercise their powers zealously, especially for small flats? I've heard the ones for large apartments can be crazy, but I get the feeling the ones here are a bit passive, although I've never dealt with them personally before.

 

[chilliblue]

When you buy a strata lot you have agreed to certain terms and conditions to assist the entire block.

Something that may not be offensive to you may be to someone else and the reserve applies.

Just stop doing it, apologise (if you want to) and move on.

Might be a good time to read all the strata regulations.

 

[jerrybee]

This is normal and I agree with the others that it has a place. I wouldn't want people doing this either as it if too many people do it the place ends up looking like a ghetto. Just buy a cheap $500 dryer from Appliances Online.

 

[lizzie]

This is normal and I agree with the others that it has a place. I wouldn't want people doing this either as it if too many people do it the place ends up looking like a ghetto. Just buy a cheap $500 dryer from Appliances Online.

or put your hanging rake in a sunny spot inside ... or a line that pulls from one end of the bathroom to the other ... or ask the body corporate to provide some clothes drying lines in a common area.

I hate drying my clothes in the dryer too

 

[joe13579]

or ask the body corporate to provide some clothes drying lines in a common area.

I might try that one if ignoring them doesn't work - I haven't seen any clothes lines anywhere, but maybe they could set one up in a common area.

I'm not a big fan of dryers, the last one I used was terrible on wear and tear, and it's a big energy hog.

Well, that's the downsides of apartment living. Although I've heard that in the US some places even ban clotheslines from houses for aesthetics, so hopefully we won't go that far!

 

[Phiber]

If you have a laundry with a window, consider mounting racks on the walls and hang your laundry there, leaving the window open. The racks can be folded flat against the wall too, so to keep things neat. Probably best to find an alternate solution that's not on common property.

 

[neK]

Any reason why you can't hang it in your house next to an open window while you're at work?

 

[cimbom]

I think hanging washing outside is ugly for houses and apartments. Just use a dryer or hang it on an airer inside somewhere. Making a big display of your laundry outside just seems weird to me

 

[joe13579]

On a related note, does anyone know which clause of the model rules (for Victoria) deals with washing? I had a look at Consumer Vic and there doesn't seem to be any mention of washing?

 

[Perp]

On a related note, does anyone know which clause of the model rules (for Victoria) deals with washing? I had a look at Consumer Vic and there doesn't seem to be any mention of washing?

I'd say it's covered by 3.1.1:

"An owner or occupier of a lot must not obstruct the lawful use and enjoyment of the common property by any other person entitled to use the common property."

If you're hanging your clothes on common property, then you're obstructing the use of that property by others.

 

[joe13579]

Thanks for that!

Do you think it would hold up if I argued that since that portion of the balcony is a dead end, it won't obstruct anyone's use, as nobody has any reason to go there, and it's not visible from below? Similar to people who put pot plants in those end spaces.

Sorry, I know I'm being difficult...it just seems ridiculous for the BC to enforce such a trivial rule, against common sense!

 

[Perp]

Do you think it would hold up if I argued that since that portion of the balcony is a dead end, it won't obstruct anyone's use, as nobody has any reason to go there, and it's not visible from below?

No.

Somebody has clearly noticed it and it bothers them. That rule is there for exactly this reason; to empower other occupants who are bothered by your activities in communal space.