On 11 October 2021, the Real Property Amendment (Certificates of Title) Act 2021 commenced, which abolished the Certificates of Title (CTs) and the control of the right to deal (CoRD) framework. All existing CTs have been cancelled and CTs will no longer be issued. Existing CTs will not need to be produced, and CoRD holder consent will not be required, for a dealing or plan to be registered. All existing Guidelines subject to this change are currently being reviewed and will be updated to reflect these changes. For further information regarding the abolition of CTs, please see https://www.registrargeneral.nsw.gov.au/property-and-conveyancing/eConveyancing/abolition-of-certificates-of-title

Consolidation/Change of By-laws

This page aims to help you complete an electronic Consolidation/Change of By-laws form.

The by-laws of a strata scheme may be changed by the owners corporation if a special resolution is passed pursuant to section 141 Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

This may be to:

  • create new by-laws
  • repeal existing by-laws
  • amend existing by-laws
  • combine separately recorded changes of by-laws into a single consolidated list.

If the change to the by-laws relates to an order made by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal that has effect as if its terms were a by-law, the reference to section 141 must be replaced with section 139(3), and the resolution passed must have been unanimous.

For information on the by-laws that apply to a strata scheme – see Where can I find the By-Laws?

For information on the subject matter of by-laws – see Strata By-law legislation

NOTE: The owners corporation must be represented in the workspace for this dealing form. 

Subscriber requirements

Before lodging this document electronically via an Electronic Lodgment Network, a Subscriber must

  1. verify their client’s identity
  2. establish their client’s right to deal with the land
  3. have a properly completed and executed Client Authorisation form and
  4. retain evidence that supports the dealing (see Supporting Evidence below).

The Subscriber must also certify that they have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the instrument is correct and compliant with relevant law and any Prescribed Requirement.

For more information on these requirements see:

Residual Documents

General information

Where any notification of a change in the by-laws is lodged for recording, the change must be lodged in the form of a consolidated version of the strata scheme’s by-laws that incorporates the change - see clause 24 Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016. This requirement ensures that the folio for the common property concisely records in a single and readily accessible instrument all of the by-laws that affect the strata scheme.
 
Every subsequent change made to the by-laws will require a new consolidated version to accompany the Consolidation/Change of By-laws form. 

The Registrar General may waive the requirement to lodge a consolidated version of the by-laws if the Registrar General is satisfied that it would be too onerous for a consolidated version to be lodged and there are no more than five such separate changes of the by-laws recorded on the folio (see clause 24(3) Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016). A letter setting out the circumstances must accompany the dealing for assessment by the Registrar General.

There are restrictions on the matters that by-laws may provide for and these are set out in section 139 Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. For example, a by-law cannot restrict an owner’s dealings with their strata lot, nor can a by-law be harsh, unconscionable or oppressive.

A plan attached to a Consolidation/Change of By-Laws form will not incur a separate plan fee. In order to attach the plan it must be included in the terms and conditions drop down option. The plan must be signed by all parties to the dealing and must be in a form capable of reproduction, i.e. it must be legible and comply with the Lodgment Rules. Any plan proposed to be attached must not be an existing registered plan. This requirement does not apply to plans annexed to existing registered by-laws that are being consolidated.

A plan attached to a Consolidation/Change of By-Laws form defining an exclusive use area in a common property rights by-law must be defined in the same manner as a lot in a strata plan. The area must be defined either by dimensioned line boundaries with perpendicular offsets and connections from a structure or by the structure itself.

Information Concerning Consolidated By-Laws:

A consolidated version of a strata scheme’s by-laws must:

  • be uploaded as an attachment
  • incorporate the change being made to the by-laws, if any and
  • include those by-laws lodged with the strata plan (referred to as ‘developer by-laws’ or ‘strata by-laws’), or adopted by the strata scheme when the strata plan was registered (referred to as model by-laws), together with any changes made to those by-laws. The text of the by-laws must be fully set out to comply with clause 24 Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016.

Where a by-law has been passed adopting, with or without modification, the Common Property Memorandum (prescribed by clause 27 Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016), the adopting by-law must be included in the consolidated version. The Common Property Memorandum must be attached to the consolidated version.

A consolidated version otherwise should:

  • omit all by-laws that have been previously repealed
  • include all by-laws that have been previously added
  • include all other by-laws as previously amended and
  • retain the numbering attributed to each by-law when it was created or set out in some other way that lists the by-laws that currently affect the strata scheme in a clear and logical manner. 

NOTE: It is not acceptable to upload previously registered Consolidation/Change of By-Laws forms as if this is a consolidated version. However, it may be permissible to attach the annexure sheet of a previously registered Change of By-Laws form containing the relevant by-law, provided that the consolidated version otherwise complies with the requirements set out above.

Subscribers should note: 

  • The consolidated version of the by-laws should be drafted with care to ensure the list is complete and accurate. NSW LRS will not examine or otherwise authenticate the consolidated version against existing recordings on the common property folio.

NOTE: If a strata by-law was omitted from the consolidated version due to a clerical error, then a Request form 11R in paper should be lodged to correct the consolidated by-laws pursuant to section 12(1)(d) Real Property Act 1900, accompanied by a statutory declaration explaining how the error occurred, and a new consolidated version of the by-laws.

However, if a strata by-law was omitted due to the by-law being omitted from the minutes of an owners corporation meeting, then the owners corporation must hold another meeting to correct the previous meeting’s minutes and prepare a new consolidated version of the by-laws. The later meeting date should then be stated in the meeting date data field.
Where a by-law refers to an attached sketch, plan or other document (including consents and approvals), that sketch, plan or other document should be attached to the consolidated version. The sketch, plan or other document must be in a form capable of reproduction, i.e. it must be legible and comply with the Lodgment Rules.

The consolidated version should not contain images, unless prior approval from NSW LRS has been obtained. Prior approval from NSW LRS can be sought be sending an email to NSW LRS setting out why the images are necessary for the Consolidation/Change of By-laws. NSW LRS will consider each request as it is made and notes that it can not guarantee the quality of the image.

Current notifications following registration

Once recorded, all current notifications of by-laws appearing on the common property folio will be removed and the folio of the Register will be updated to refer to the consolidated version.

Guide to complete

Legislation – Strata Schemes Development Act 2015, Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and clause 24 Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016.

Stamp Duty – not required.

Notice of Sale – not required.

Standard Form of Caveat – a caveat noted on the Register will prevent recording of the Consolidation/Change of By-laws.

Priority Notice Noted on the Register – see Priority Notice page for more information.

The following headings refer to the data fields which must be completed in order to lodge an electronic Consolidation/Change of By-laws form.

Land Titles

Enter the Land title reference of the common property of the strata scheme.

Participant Details

Owners Corporation – (Party Details – Party Name)

Select the name of the owners corporation of the strata scheme.

Document

Create Document - Select Other Documents.

Select Consolidation/Change of By-laws.

Owners Corporation

Select the owners corporation.

Meeting Date

Enter the date that the owners corporation passed the special resolution must be stated. The meeting date must be no more than 6 months before the lodgment date.

Section 141(4) Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 provides that a notification cannot be lodged with NSW LRS more than 6 months after the resolution has been passed. If more than 6 months has passed and the Consolidation/Change of By-Laws form has not been lodged, the scheme will need to hold another meeting to confirm the resolution. If the Consolidation/Change of By-laws form is lodged in the 6 month timeframe, but is delayed because a requisition is raised, the strata scheme will not need to hold an additional meeting to confirm the resolution as section 141(4) has been satisfied.

If the Consolidation/Change of By-Laws form is lodged after the 6 month period has passed, then the owners corporation must hold another meeting to specially resolve to make the by-law.

The following items must be completed by the Subscriber and reflected in the attachment.

Enter the respective by-law number or N/A if not applicable.

Repealed by-law No.

If a by-law is being repealed, the number of the affected by-law must be entered.

Added by-law No.

If a by-law is being added, it must be given the next number after the last numbered existing by-law.

Amended by-law No.

If a by-law is being amended, the number of the affected by-law must be entered.

Attachments

Attachment Type – Conditions and Provisions

A consolidated version of all the by-laws affecting the strata scheme must be uploaded, incorporating the change that is being effected by the dealing and including any model by-laws.

Attachment Type - Approved Forms

Strata schemes Approved Form 23 is a mandatory attachment for all Consolidation of By-Laws forms.

If the change to the by-laws confer a right (including a common property rights by-law) or impose an obligation on less than all of the lots and/or owners in the strata scheme, and if there is no recording in the folio for the common property that the initial period has expired, the owners corporation must lodge Approved Form 10, certifying that the initial period has expired.

Alternatively, the relevant order made under section 27 Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 that authorises the by-law being passed must be attached.

Supporting evidence

In addition to evidence supporting the steps taken by the Subscriber to verify the identity of their Client and establish their Client’s right to deal, the Subscriber may be required to retain other evidence to support the dealing.

The evidence that the Subscriber is required to retain to support a Consolidation/Change of By-Laws dealing form may include:

  • special resolution of the owners corporation.

It is a matter for the Subscriber to be satisfied that they have met the requirements for the dealing. Please refer to the ARNECC Guidance Note 5 for assistance on retaining evidence to support conveyancing transactions in accordance with the NSW Participation Rules.

All NSW legislation can be accessed at www.legislation.nsw.gov.au