Having read all the posts up to this point , it's my opinion that it's time for a blanket party . You and several other residents need to gently explain to this asshole that the balcony is for everyone , and if he continues to block access there's a good chance of bruises and broken bones . You could fill the lock to his condo with crazy glue every time he leaves ... hey , he's denying you access to "your" property , turnabout is fair play .
Typical, they don't say where this shared property is even located. But wherever it is, I bet that the flow of authority is:
MAster Deed Bylaws Rules and Regulations
And a board made up of unit owners is described and given authority to enforce all the above, including fining offending unit owners, making them pay for damage (the cost of changing the lock back), etc. And typically the Master Deed gives them the right to lien the units if the fines are not paid. This is nuts. There has to be a body that provides for maintenance of the common areas, sets rules, enforces them, etc. And one step one be for said board to call the police, tell them this person is committing malicious acts by fiddling with locks, and have them speak with the unit owner about possible future criminal charges. Basically someone needs to read their owner's documents and grow some balls.
I assume this is a condominium or neighboring community which usually have a governing board or association. If not, or there isn't a governing board or owner, then it appears ANY unit owner is capable of changing the locks and thus, you'll be fighting the issue endlessly. This is a perfect example of why a governing body is sometimes needed.
One possibility is to organize a gathering of unit owners to discuss this issue and confront the person who is changing the lock and ask them to stop. I may also be a wise idea to seek an election to choose a governing body or person to avoid issues such as this in the future.
IMO, if someone is adamant on changing the lock and aren't obligated to obey any governing board, all the signs in the world will not stop them.
Given that trader has succinctly outlined the problem AND the likely legal solution, and that 543dsa (the OP) has not responded to trader, I conclude that 543dsa is simply carrying on this discussion for his own amusement.
When you buy a flat in a block of flats with that type of property title, you get the usual description of the boundaries of the property you are buying, just like with any other real estate transaction, and the rest of the block is common property.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
I'm neither, it is a mate of mine who is one of the owners.
That?s isnt the case.
He has no case that it is his balcony.
The legal situation is clear. The problem is that it isn't at all clear that any solicitor can do anything useful in this situation except fire off stern letters to the miscreant and have him ignore those. with impunity.
It would certainly be possible to commence a civil action and get a court to rule that he has no right to keep changing the lock, but if he continues to do that, with a civil matter, it is far from clear what the court would be prepared to do about that, and how much all that legal shit fight would cost.
And it isnt clear what the mental state of the miscreant is, whether he is deluded about whether it is his balcony or whether he is just trying that on and if he is deluded, what it would take to convince him that it isnt his balcony.
Because their flat or block of flats doesn?t have anywhere to do that. Yes, they can certainly use public parks etc for that, but it is not very surprising that some choose to use what they have no right to use.
It is obviously part of the block of flats that they have no right to use.
There are no bin men that collect them, the block of flats pays a commercial operation to remove the rubbish.
They in fact had a group of individuals use the block car park for a pissup in the very early hours of one weekend morning.
That assumes it is obvious that they have no legal right to use it. With 60 flats, some of them being rented, it isnt that easy to keep track of who has the right to use communal property and who doesn?t. That?s why that balcony has key access with those who have the right to use it getting a key that allows them to use it.
They are considering locking the rubbish area to prevent the general public from dumping their rubbish in the bins too. But with such a big block of flats, there is always a problem with some who find it a nuisance to unlock doors all the time and who just prop the lockable doors to communal property so that the purpose of the lock is defeated.
In fact some of the unit owners do not pay those bills and the property management operation currently isnt doing anything about that. The unit owners are currently changing the property managers, but it isn't a trivial matter to make unit owners pay.
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