When was the last time your Owners Corporation reviewed its rules?
For many Owners Corporations, the answer may be: not since the plan of subdivision was first registered.
And in a building that has changed significantly since then, that can create real problems.
A building is rarely the same community five, ten or twenty years after it was first developed. The way residents use their lots and common property changes. Technology changes. The law changes. New issues emerge.
Yet the rules governing the building can remain largely untouched.
With disputes concerning everything from renovations and pets to electric vehicles, security, deliveries, smoking, short-stay accommodation and the use of common facilities, there is good reason for Owners Corporations to periodically ask a simple question: Do our rules actually reflect the building we are managing today?
What are Owners Corporation Rules
Under section 138 of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic) (the Act), an Owners Corporation may, by special resolution, make, amend or revoke rules in relation to the matters permitted by Schedule 1 to the Act. A rule must be directed to the control, management, administration, use or enjoyment of the common property or a lot.
The Owners Corporations Regulations 2018 (Vic) (the Regulations) also prescribe model rules. Where an Owners Corporation has not made its own rules, the model rules apply. Where an Owners Corporation has made its own rules but those rules do not address a matter dealt with by the model rules, the relevant model rule is deemed to form part of the Owners Corporation’s rules.
That provides an important baseline.
However, a baseline is not necessarily a complete set of rules tailored to the particular needs of a building.
A six-lot residential development has very different operational requirements from a 300-lot apartment tower with lifts, a gym, swimming pool, loading dock, concierge, extensive security systems and hundreds of residents and visitors moving through it each day.
Rules should reflect those differences.
Why should Owners Corporations review their rules
There are several reasons.
- The rules may simply be out of date
Some Owners Corporations continue to operate under rules prepared when the development was originally established.
Since then, legislation and regulations may have changed, the model rules may have changed, and the way the development operates may have changed significantly.
The current Regulations have themselves been amended since their commencement, including amendments to the model rules.
An old rule should not therefore be assumed to remain appropriate simply because it appears on the title.
In fact, registration does not necessarily mean that a rule is valid.
Section 140 of the Act provides that a rule is of no effect if it is oppressive to, unfairly prejudicial to or unfairly discriminates against a lot owner or occupier, or if it is inconsistent with or limits a right or avoids an obligation under applicable legislation.
That makes periodic review particularly important.
- Buildings have changed
Think about how apartment living has changed over the past decade.
Online shopping has transformed the volume of deliveries arriving at residential buildings.
Electric vehicles have created new questions about charging infrastructure and the use of car parks and common property.
Working from home has changed how residential lots are occupied during the day.
Short-stay accommodation has introduced another category of occupier into some buildings.
Electronic access systems, CCTV, parcel lockers, bicycle storage and shared amenities have also become increasingly common.
Older rules may never have contemplated any of these issues.
A good set of rules should address the actual building rather than an abstract version of apartment living.
- Good rules can prevent disputes before they start
Rules tend to receive the most attention when somebody allegedly breaches them.
By that stage, the Owners Corporation may already be dealing with complaints, correspondence, notices and potentially a proceeding at VCAT.
But rules also have an important preventative function.
Clear rules can establish expectations about matters such as moving in and out of the building, use of common facilities, renovations, parking, waste disposal, noise, security and behaviour on common property.
That gives owners, occupiers, committees and managers a common point of reference before a disagreement becomes a dispute.
Ambiguous rules can have the opposite effect.
What should an Owners Corporation consider?
There is no single set of additional rules that will be appropriate for every Owners Corporation.
The starting point should be the development itself.
An Owners Corporation reviewing its rules might consider issues including:
- renovations and works within lots, including notice requirements and protection of common property;
- moving procedures and the use of lifts and loading areas;
- parking, visitor parking and vehicle access;
- electric vehicle charging and associated infrastructure;
- pets and the use of common property with animals;
- noise, nuisance, smoking and other conduct affecting neighbouring lots;
- waste, recycling and disposal of bulky items;
- security, access devices and building entry;
- use of gyms, pools, rooftops, gardens and other common facilities;
- bicycles, scooters and other mobility devices;
- deliveries and the use of common areas for parcels;
- short-stay accommodation, where relevant;
- damage to common property and procedures surrounding works or moving activities; and
- any building-specific operational issues that repeatedly generate complaints or uncertainty.
Importantly, the objective is not to create a rule for everything.
More rules do not necessarily mean better governance.
Rules should be clear, necessary, proportionate and capable of being understood and applied. An Owners Corporation’s rule-making power is statutory and is not unlimited. Rules must fall within the matters authorised by the Act and cannot override other legislation merely because the Owners Corporation would prefer a different outcome.
Rules should be tailored, not copied
It can be tempting to take the rules from another development and adopt them wholesale.
That approach should be treated with caution.
Two apartment buildings sitting next door to each other may have completely different plans of subdivision, common property, facilities, easements, access arrangements and operational requirements.
A rule designed for one development may be unnecessary for another, or may not work in the same way.
A proper review should therefore consider not only the existing registered rules, but also the plan of subdivision, the nature and use of the common property, the facilities within the development and the practical issues that the Owners Corporation regularly encounters.
The committee and Owners Corporation manager can play an important role in that process because they are often the people who know where the recurring problems lie.
Making new rules is only part of the process
Identifying that a rule needs to change is not enough.
Under section 138 of the Act, rules are made, amended or revoked by special resolution. The Act also contains requirements concerning the recording of rules.
Accordingly, an Owners Corporation considering a review should allow sufficient time to:
- review the existing registered rules and applicable model rules;
- identify gaps, outdated provisions and recurring building-specific issues;
- prepare rules appropriate for the particular development;
- check that the proposed rules are within the Owners Corporation’s statutory rule-making power and are not otherwise of no effect;
- put the proposed rules to owners for the necessary resolution; and
- complete the required registration and notification steps.
Simply drafting a new document and circulating it to residents does not, by itself, make those provisions enforceable Owners Corporation rules.
A useful governance exercise
Rules are sometimes treated as a document that sits in the Owners Corporation records until there is a dispute.
They should be more than that.
For a well-run Owners Corporation, the rules form part of the practical framework for how hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of interactions between owners, occupiers, visitors, contractors and managers occur each year.
A periodic rules review gives an Owners Corporation an opportunity to consider what has changed, what is causing problems and whether its existing governance framework remains suitable.
A rules review does not necessarily mean rewriting the rulebook. Sometimes it confirms that the existing rules remain appropriate. In other cases, it can identify gaps that have emerged as the building and the way it is used have evolved.
If your Owners Corporation has not looked at its rules for years, that may be the best indication that it is time to look at them again.
This article was first published on 30 September 2026 and was written by Julia Moroz, Director & Principal and Jade Holding, Paralegal in our Melbourne office.
© Bugden Allen Group Legal Pty Ltd. This is general information only and not legal advice. You should not rely on this information without seeking legal advice tailored to your specific circumstances.
