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

Form 15CH (PDF 100 KB)

Dealing type - CH

Legislation 

Strata Schemes Development Act  2015

Cl. 24 Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016

Strata Schemes Management Act 2015

Stamp duty - not required

NOS form - not required

Standard form of Caveat - prevents registration.

Priority Notice noted on the Register - see Priority Notice page.

NOTE: This dealing type signed on or after the 22/3/2021 must be lodged electronically using an Electronic Lodgment Network (see Conveyancing Rules 8.7 and 8.8).

Where a required mandated dealing is excluded from electronic lodgment or circumstances allow the Registrar General to waive electronic lodgment under Conveyancing Rules 8.7 and 8.8, the incoming dealing must be accompanied with the Conveyancing Rules Exemptions form 2021 indicating the exemption.

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

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 that incorporates the change, see clause 24 Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016. This requirement ensures the folio for the common property concisely records in a single and readily accessible instrument all of the by-laws that affect the 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 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 5 such separate changes 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.

The following instructions relate to the marginal letters on the dealing form:

(A) The reference to title for the common property must be stated.

(B) In addition to a postal address, an email address may be provided if applicants wish to receive requisitions via email.

(C) The number of the strata plan and the date that the owners corporation passed the special resolution must be stated.

NOTE: A change to the by-laws must be lodged within 6 months of passing the special resolution. See section 141(4) Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
 
NOTE: 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.

(D) The by-laws of the 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.

The interactive form can be suitably modified by selecting the appropriate statement at Note (D) or by adding the statement to any manually drafted form.

NOTE: If the change 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. Panels (C) and (D) may be suitably amended in this instance.

(E) If a by-law is being repealed or amended, the number of the affected by-law must be stated. If a by-law is being added, it must be given the next number after the last numbered existing by-law.

Details of the change to the by-laws must be fully set out in the space provided, or if there is insufficient space, set out in an annexure.

NOTE: If the change to the by-laws confers 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 lodged.

NOTE: There are restrictions on the matters that by-laws may provide for and 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.

NOTE: A plan annexed to a Consolidation/Change of by-laws form is not liable to a plan fee. 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 annexed must not be a registered deposited plan or strata plan. This requirement will not apply to plans which have already been annexed to registered by-laws.

NOTE: Where a by-law refers to an attached sketch, plan or other document (including consents and approvals), lodging parties should attach that sketch, plan or other document to the consolidated version. The sketch, plan or other document must be in a form capable of reproduction, i.e. it must be legible where applicable and comply with the Lodgment Rules, and the consolidated version should not contain images, unless prior approval from NSW LRS has been obtained.

NOTE: A plan annexed 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.

(F) A consolidated version of the by-laws affecting the strata scheme must be included as an annexure, incorporate the change that is referred to at panel (E) and include any model by-laws.

A consolidated version must:

  • 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.

NOTE: 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.

NOTE: Every subsequent change made to the by-laws will require a new consolidated version to accompany the Consolidation/Change of By-Laws form.

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 annex 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 the consolidated version otherwise complies with the requirements set out above.

Lodging parties should note:

  • the consolidated version 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 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 the 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 inserted at marginal note (C).

(G) The seal of the owners corporation must be affixed in the space provided. The strata plan number, date of affixing the seal, the full name of the person(s) attesting the affixing of the seal and the nature of their authority must be stated: section 273 Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

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.

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

Staff processing information

Details of the changes made to the by-laws must be examined to determine whether or not Approved Form 10 (relating to the initial period) is required. If in doubt, refer to a supervisor.

If otherwise in order, proceed with registration except for the following:

Refer to LEG99

  • Where a letter is lodged with the dealing requesting the waiver of the requirement for lodgment of a consolidated version of the by-laws.
  • Where an Order of Strata Schemes Board appears on title.

Registration procedure

Change of By-laws with a Consolidation Version of By-laws

TRANSACTION    ON

PRIME CODE       CDBL

Remove previously recorded codes CDBL, SB, SBL, SG, SH, SI, SJ, SK, SL,SM and any prime or sub-level Change of By-law notifications recorded on title. 

Change of By-laws

Where there has been a waiver of the requirement for a consolidated version of the by-laws to be lodged, either:

If there is an existing CDBL recording:

TRANSACTION    UNDR

PRIME CODE       CDBL

PRIME NO.          number of Consolidation of Registered By-laws  

SUB CODE           UCB

If there is not an existing CDBL recording:

TRANSACTION     ON

PRIME CODE        CB

Initial Period

Where Approved form 10 is lodged certifying “that the initial period has expired” and there is no recording on the folio that initial period has expired. Record a notification that the “Initial Period Expired” on the common property folio.

TRANSACTION     ON 

PRIME CODE        CI