By-Laws Explained: Community Corporations

What By-Laws Actually Are

By-laws are the rules of a community corporation. Every community corporation has them, and they bind every lot owner, every tenant, and the corporation itself to a shared agreement about how units and common property are used and looked after.

It's worth being clear about what by-laws can and can't do. The Community Titles Act 1996 sets out the legal obligations every community corporation has — those are non-negotiable. By-laws sit on top of the Act and fill in the day-to-day detail: what colour the fence has to be, whether you can have a satellite dish, how many pets you can keep. By-laws cannot override the Act, but everything else is up to the corporation.

Who Writes the By-Laws?

The original set of by-laws is drafted by the developer's conveyancer or legal practitioner when the community plan is lodged with the Lands Titles Office. From that point onwards, the corporation owns them. They can be amended later — see the section below on Section 39.

What By-Laws Typically Cover

By-laws can be quite prescriptive. Common provisions require owners and occupiers to:

• Keep their lot in a clean and tidy condition
• Properly maintain lawns and gardens within the lot
• Not interfere with lawns, gardens, or other features on the common property
• Not display signs or advertisements without the corporation's consent
• Not keep animals in or about the lot without consent (where the by-laws require it)
• Notify the corporation of any change in ownership or occupier
• Use the common property reasonably and not obstruct others
• Store rubbish and garbage in appropriate containers
• Report any infestation by pests, vermin, or chemical contamination promptly

By-laws also commonly govern parking, traffic on the common property, paint colours, building modifications, and the kind of insurance individual lot owners are required to hold.

Enforcement: A Legal Obligation, Not a Choice

This is the part that surprises many committee members. Under Section 75 of the Community Titles Act, one of the corporation's formal functions is to enforce the by-laws. It's not a discretion — it's a duty. When the corporation becomes aware that an owner, an occupier, or a visitor has breached the by-laws, it has an obligation to act.

That doesn't mean every minor breach needs to escalate immediately. A polite phone call or letter is often all it takes. But if the breach continues, the corporation needs to be willing to issue a formal breach notice and, if necessary, take the matter further. Failing to act consistently can undermine the corporation's ability to enforce any by-law later.

Get Your Evidence Before You Act

Before warning or breaching an owner or resident, the corporation and its officers need to have evidence in hand. Acting on a single anonymous complaint — or worse, on hearsay — leaves the corporation exposed if the matter is ever challenged.

Acceptable evidence typically includes:

• A signed diary kept by affected residents, recording dates, times, and what was observed
• Photographs (timestamped where possible)
• An officer of the corporation personally sighting the problem

Where the breach involves a tenant, contact the owner or their managing agent rather than the tenant directly. The owner is the corporation's contractual counterparty — it's their job to deal with their tenant, not yours.

For more on what to do when an issue can't be resolved informally, see our guide to resolving disputes.

Amending By-Laws: Section 39

By-laws can be changed, but the process is strict. Section 39 of the Community Titles Act requires:

1. A special resolution of the community corporation (defined below).
2. Within 14 days of the resolution passing, the corporation must lodge with the Registrar-General: a copy of the by-laws as varied, a copy of the resolution itself, and certification that the by-laws have been correctly prepared in accordance with the Act.
3. The certified copies must comply with the regulations.

If the corporation doesn't lodge the change with the Registrar-General within the 14 days, the variation isn't legally effective — even though the resolution was passed. The Registrar-General can extend the lodgement period if the variation came from a court order, but not if the variation was passed by resolution.

Because a stuffed-up amendment can leave the corporation with by-laws that aren't legally enforceable, we strongly recommend engaging a licensed conveyancer or lawyer to prepare and lodge the changes. The cost is small relative to the consequences of getting it wrong.

What "Special Resolution" Means in This Context

For a community corporation, a special resolution is one where:

• At least 14 days' written notice setting out the proposed wording has been served on every lot owner, and
• The resolution is passed at a properly convened meeting where the votes cast against the resolution amount to 25% or less of the total possible votes (counted as if every owner attended and voted).

For groups with only three lots, the threshold is set under Section 88 of the Act instead. If you're unsure how the maths works for your particular group, the glossary entry on special resolution covers it in more detail.

Examples of Common By-Law Clauses

The clauses below are paraphrased from typical community corporation by-laws. They're illustrative — your group's actual by-laws may differ.

• Use of common property — owners and occupiers must not damage or interfere with any building, structure, tree, or garden on the common property, and must not use any part of the common property as a private garden without written consent.
• External appearance — owners must maintain paintwork and finishes that affect the external appearance of buildings, in line with any approved colour scheme for the development.
• Insurance — each lot owner is typically required to hold a public risk policy of at least $10 million over their lot, in addition to the corporation's own insurance over common property.
• Pets — many groups limit lot owners to a maximum of one cat and/or one dog (or two of one kind), with conditions about cleanliness, noise, and confinement to the lot.
• Vehicles and parking — vehicles must use designated parking areas only, must not obstruct access, and must observe any speed limit set by the corporation on the common property.

The actual document for your group will be more detailed and specific. If you don't have a copy of your by-laws, ask your manager — every owner is entitled to one.

Penalties and Cost Recovery

By-laws typically include a penalty clause for breach (commonly up to $500), and most also give the corporation the right to recover its enforcement costs as a debt from the offending owner. This includes fees for any independent consultants, mediators, or lawyers involved in addressing the breach. Many by-laws also allow the corporation to charge interest on overdue amounts owed by an owner.

None of these recovery powers are useful if the corporation hasn't followed the proper enforcement process — which is why the evidence-first approach matters.

Get in Touch

If your community corporation needs help reviewing, enforcing, or amending its by-laws, we're happy to help. Acacia Collective manages community title groups across South Australia and works regularly with conveyancers on by-law variations.

Call us on 1300 792 255 or email hello@acaciacollective.com.au.