Short answer
You generally can’t store your belongings on common property without approval — shared areas belong to all the owners, and leaving items in them can breach the scheme’s by-laws and fire-safety rules. Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), giving one owner ongoing use of a defined part of the common property is done through a by-law, not by simply parking your things there. The registered strata plan sets what counts as common property.
Why storing in shared areas is a problem
Bikes, boxes, furniture or equipment left in hallways, foyers, car park aisles or plant rooms is a frequent source of strata disputes. Two issues drive it: the area is shared, so one owner filling it with belongings takes from everyone; and blocking common areas — especially corridors, stairs and exits — can breach fire-safety requirements, which committees have to take seriously. Most schemes’ by-laws restrict obstructing or storing goods in common areas, so check your by-laws before using them for storage. Items left without authority can also be treated as goods left on common property and removed under the Act’s process.
The legitimate way to get storage
If there’s a genuinely spare area you’d like to use, the proper route is to ask the owners corporation for exclusive use of a defined space through a common property rights by-law. That by-law grants the right, records the space, and sets who maintains it — turning an informal (and unauthorised) arrangement into a documented one. Whether the scheme agrees is up to the owners corporation at a general meeting, and the by-law needs a special resolution, so it’s a request to make formally rather than something to assume.
Keeping shared space clear as a committee
A self-managed committee manages common-area storage itself — setting the by-law expectations, responding to complaints, and dealing with items left in shared areas. Straita helps a committee stay on top of it: logging complaints about obstructed common areas, tracking any exclusive-use requests through to a by-law, and keeping the record of items removed — so shared space stays clear and the decisions are documented.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — ss 142–143 (common property rights by-laws) and s 125 (goods left on common property).
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — by-laws and common property.
- NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) — disputes about by-laws and common property.