Short answer
An owners corporation can, in some circumstances, lease or licence part of the common property — for example a rooftop for telecommunications equipment, or a spare space — but only the owners corporation (not an individual owner) can do it, and it needs proper authority, generally a resolution at a general meeting. Common property belongs to all the owners jointly, so any income usually belongs to the scheme. The registered strata plan defines what is common property in the first place.
Who can do it, and how
Because common property is owned collectively, one owner can’t rent out a shared area on their own — the decision sits with the owners corporation as a whole. Granting a lease or licence over common property is done by the owners corporation with the owners’ authority, typically a resolution passed at a general meeting, and documented properly. The exact resolution threshold and documentation depend on what’s being granted and for how long, so a scheme doing this should confirm the correct process (and often get legal input) rather than treat it as a routine committee decision.
Lease, licence, or exclusive use
There’s a spectrum here worth understanding. A short arrangement letting a third party use an area can be a licence; a longer, more formal arrangement can be a lease; and giving a single owner ongoing exclusive use of common property is usually done through an exclusive-use by-law rather than a commercial rental. Which instrument fits depends on who benefits, for how long, and whether money changes hands. Any income from renting common property generally flows to the scheme’s funds, not to an individual.
Managing an arrangement as a self-managed committee
A self-managed committee can put a common-property lease or licence in place itself, provided it gets the authority and paperwork right. Straita helps a committee keep that on record: capturing the resolution that authorised the arrangement, tracking the agreement and its term, and logging the income to the scheme — so the authority and the money trail are documented for owners and auditors.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — dealings with, and rights over, common property.
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — common property and owners corporation decisions.
- NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) — disputes about common property dealings.