NSW: Q&A Can I Display a ‘For Sale’ Sign On My Apartment?

An NSW Lot Owner is wondering whether they can display a For Sale or political sign on their apartment building.

Table of Contents:

• QUESTION: Without a specific bylaw referring to this, can an Owners Corporation or the Strata Committee insist that a Real Estate Office erect their signs only on a Particular Area of the Common Property?
• QUESTION: If I am an owner, can I have a ‘For Sale’ sign on my apartment? Does this rule also apply for political signs displayed on apartments?

Question: Without a specific bylaw referring to this, can an Owners Corporation or the Strata Committee insist that a Real Estate Office erect their signs only on a Particular Area of the Common Property?

I live in a block of 12 units in Sydney NSW.

We do not have a specific By-Law regarding “For Sale” and “For Lease” signs or whether they are permitted to be erected by real estate offices on our Common Property at the front of the building.

Without a specific bylaw referring to this, can an Owners Corporation or the Strata Committee insist that a Real Estate Office erect their signs only on a Particular Area of the Common Property?

Can the owners corporation also insist that the Sign be removed within seven (7) days of a sale or lease of a lot?

Answer: Even if you do not have a specific by-law for signage, the erection of signage is not permitted without the approval in writing of the owners corporation (or strata committee). That approval may involve conditions.

Even if you do not have a specific by-law for signage, the erection of signage, of necessity, involves the use of nails, screws and other “damage” to the common property which is not permitted without the approval in writing of the owners corporation (or strata committee). See for example a standard by-law no. 5 reproduced below. Part of that approval may involve the imposition of reasonable conditions such as designation of particular area for use and removal of the sign within a certain period of time.

5 Damage to Common Property

1. An owner or occupier of a lot must not mark, paint, drive nails or screws or the like into, or otherwise damage or deface, any structure that forms part of the common property without the approval in writing of the owners corporation.

Leanne Habib
Premium Strata
E: [email protected]
P: 02 9281 6440

These articles are not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.

This post appears in Strata News #538.

Question: If I am an owner, can I have a ‘For Sale’ sign on my apartment? Does this rule also apply for political signs displayed on apartments?

Can a buildings bylaws restrict me from posting the poster of a major parties candidate 11 floors up from the street? I own the apartment.

I would really appreciate some advice as they have threatened me with the civic administrator tribunal & a fine. I received the letter after I had taken the signs down after the election. They were up for a couple of weeks.

If it is illegal to display a political flag, does the same go for any type of signage such as a ‘For Sale’ or ‘For Lease’ sign?

Answer: Some buildings have specific signage by-laws prohibiting any signage whatsoever, with an approval process even in case of real estate ‘For Sale’ sign.

Yes, buildings can restrict signage. Some buildings have specific signage by-laws prohibiting any signage whatsoever, with an approval process even in case of real estate “for Sale’ or “for Lease’ signs.

In the absence of a signage by-law, buildings rely on the “in keeping with the appearance” by-law which states that you must not keep anything within your lot which is visible from the outside of the lot and which when viewed therefrom is not in keeping with the rest of the building.

So, your signage is likely to be in breach of the by-laws entitling the owners corporation to prosecute that breach.

This applies to absolutely any type of signage as it is not just limited to appearance issues but also damage to common property. Generally, ‘For Sale’ and ‘For Lease’ signs are affixed to some part of the common property that may or may not damage the common property permanently.

Leanne Habib
Premium Strata
E: [email protected]
P: 02 9281 6440

These articles are not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.

This post appears in Strata News #216.

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