A win for strata reform

The Property Council’s long campaign to secure modern strata laws has paid dividends with new laws passing State Parliament allowing the renewal of office and housing stock.

The new laws represent the first major reform to strata legislation since 1973 and will play a crucial role in giving Sydney the urban renewal and contemporary office space it needs as we grow.

They are accompanied by a new scheme for managing building defects.

Key reforms introduced include:

• A new process for collective sale and renewal of strata schemes that reduces the ‘termination threshold’ of owners agreeing to their strata scheme from 100 per cent to 75 per cent.
• The lower threshold automatically applies to all new strata buildings – and allows owners of existing strata buildings to opt-in if they want to pursue a termination and renewal scheme.
• Establishing a new process to help ensure building defects are addressed early in the life of the building. The legislation will introduce:

     o   mandatory defect inspection reports; and

     o   the requirement that developers lodge a 2% building bond as a form of security to
          fix any defective work.

“Moving from a unanimous to majority decision will be a game changer for urban renewal in both the CBD and the suburbs and crucial to Sydney’s evolution as a global city,” says the Property Council’s NSW executive director, Glenn Byres.

“It helps deliver the new housing we need, as well as making it easier to aggregate sites in our commercial centres for new stock with larger floorplates and higher sustainability standards.”

Prior to the commencement of the legislation new regulations will be developed and consulted on and a comprehensive public awareness campaign will be undertaken to ensure that people are aware of their new rights and responsibilities.

It is anticipated that the new laws will commence on 1 July 2016.