In accordance with this , Prescribed Management Rule 30 of the Act provides for trustees to take all reasonable steps to ensure that :
Respecting common property & neighbours rights
Residents do not use the common property , their sections or exclusive use areas in any way that unreasonably interferes with the rights of others ( who are lawfully exercising their rights ); and that
Preserving property value and utility
Residents do not do anything to a section or exclusive use area that would have a material negative affect on the value or utility of any other section or exclusive use area .
And this might result in them requesting residents – both owners and tenants – to refrain from smoking or growing cannabis anywhere in the complex except inside their own sections . Alternatively , they could try to introduce a new Conduct Rule outlining the precise conditions for cannabis use in their scheme – but it is important to note that the CPPA is national legislation , so any new rule would not be allowed to prohibit the smoking or growing of cannabis altogether .
A new Conduct Rule could be regarded by some residents as ineffective in regulating the use of cannabis in their complex , and by others as too strict and an infringement of the rights granted by the CPPA , in which case the parties would need to consider lodging a dispute with the Community Schemes Ombud Service ( CSOS ) so that the issue could be resolved by mediation or arbitration .
Meanwhile , owners who are renting their Sectional Title units must now make sure that their lease agreements stipulate whether the property is a smoking or nonsmoking unit , especially if they don ’ t want their tenants smoking cannabis
– or anything else - because there is a risk of them contravening the scheme ’ s Conduct Rules .
In some schemes , landlords can be fined when tenants break these rules , in which case they need to make sure that the lease also provides for them to cancel the agreement after three written warnings if the tenants are observed or found smoking .
And of course both owners and tenants need to be sensitive to any objections by neighbours whenever they smoke outside , because the reality of living in any community housing scheme is that it requires respectful co-existence between close neighbours , no matter what rights are granted by the CPPA or any other legislation .
About the author Andrew Schaefer , MD of leading property management company Trafalgar .
61