More than 50 years after the commencement of the world’s first strata title law in NSW, major reform continues with the release of a discussion paper for the public’s input to help shape new laws for the 21st Century.
Minister for Fair Trading Anthony Roberts has said that the government is now accepting submissions into the laws that would govern their future living and working environments.
More than one quarter of the state now owns, lives or works in one of more than 70,000 strata or community schemes worth an estimated $350 billion. The current strata laws are overly formal, old fashioned, complex and restrictive is how many view the current set of laws governing strata.
The discussion paper, Making NSW No 1 Again: Shaping future communities, follows a 3 month online consultation project by Global Access Partners (GAP) that generated 1200 comments and more than 600 suggested law changes.
The University of NSW City Futures Research Centre report, Governing the Compact City: the role and effectiveness of strata management also informed the development of the government’s discussion paper, as did decisions from the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (CTTT), and consideration of arrangements in interstate and overseas jurisdictions.
The new regulations aim to cut red tape and repetition, streamline and strengthen laws and remove anything that strangles good governance or inhibits necessary protections for people.
Almost three quarters of all schemes have 10 lots or less but all are compelled to elect a committee. Just over half of all lots in NSW are currently investor owned. In some schemes tenants make up all or the majority of residents and yet they have no voting rights and can’t attend committee meetings.
Around 60 percent of all schemes in NSW are managed by a licensed strata managing agent and it’s close to 100 percent in large and complex schemes. About one quarter of all disputes that come to Fair Trading are about the conduct of managing agents.
About 30 percent of residential strata schemes in the Sydney metropolitan area were registered more than 30 years ago. Many older buildings, some nearing 100 years old, have been converted to strata title.
Renewal or termination of schemes is an urgent issue in some developments. Urban consolidation demands will mean many low density existing schemes will need renewal, yet community and majority interests can conflict with those of the individual. Many buildings are not economical to keep repairing and maintaining. We need a fair and reasonable way of allowing schemes to be redeveloped in the best interests of the community.
The discussion paper examines development issues when schemes are established, as well as management issues that arise on a day to day basis during the life of a scheme.
The government intends to release an Exposure Draft Bill by mid-2013 and bring a final Bill to the parliament in the Spring session next year.