COMPULSORY ACQUISITION — market value claim for compensation for compulsory acquisition resulting in extinguishment of right of footway over adjoining land benefitting common property of strata scheme — market value claim by owners corporation of strata scheme — assumed hypothetical purchaser and seller are neighbouring owners corporations — owners corporation cannot claim lot owners’ rental losses as agent — before and after valuation methodology impermissibly considered public purpose — hypothetical parties would not assume blocking of physical access when ROF extinguished — nominal compensation awarded
COMPULSORY ACQUISITION — claim for injurious affection to other land resulting from extinguishment of right of footway over adjoining land benefitting common property of strata scheme not available — owners corporation cannot claim as agent for lot owners — no claim by lot owners before the court — lot owners land not other land identified for purposes of s 55(f)
Quick Take
1An owners corporation cannot claim compensation under the Just Terms Act for the acquisition of an easement benefitting common property by valuing the loss as the diminution in rental income of individual lot owners' shops; the statutory agency relationship under s 28 of the SSD Act and the management obligations under ss 9 and 254 of the SSM Act do not create a compensable interest for lot owners under the Just Terms Act
2Where a 'before and after' valuation methodology for market value under s 55(a) is driven by the impact of carrying out the public purpose (here, loss of pedestrian traffic from physical disconnection), it impermissibly fails to disregard the public purpose as required by s 56(1)(a), and the methodology may be inconsistent with the Act per Mir Bros
3In valuing an acquired right of footway between two commercial strata properties with a long history of physical connection, the hypothetical willing but not anxious parties would not rationally assume that extinguishment of the legal right equates to loss of physical access, given the mutual commercial benefits of maintaining the connection; the legal right attracted only nominal value on the facts
