Industry

Attorney-general acknowledges ‘Dirty 17’

The year 2013 is truly finishing on a high for the strata sector as the New South Wales government has released its White Paper on Strata Reforms that will be tabled in parliament in early 2014.

The NSW overhaul includes new noise reduction measures for people living in apartments, new guidelines on the keeping of pets in apartments and strata title complexes and new measures to encourage residents and owners to become more active in the management and daily operations of apartment buildings.

Interestingly, their discussion paper was named Making NSW No 1 again: Shaping future communities that I’d like to understand as Queensland leading the way in strata. While NSW has 72,000 strata schemes, Queensland is steadily catching up with now 42,000 registered schemes and just under 400,000 lots. The need for a major review of all the property laws is timely and SCA (Qld) is pro-actively preparing for the opportunity to represent an industry that manages property on behalf of owners worth an estimated replacement value of $80 billion.

A full review in Queensland has been announced by the attorney-general to commence in 2014 with an initial focus on the split Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act pieces of legislation, then followed by a further review of the lot entitlements and seller disclosure. From our stakeholder meetings with the Department of Justice we know that a board of reference will be gathered for mid-2014 with an expected release of strata relevant documents around June. QUT experts have been appointed to undertake the review including SCA (Qld) life member professor Bill Duncan. QUT will further appoint experts from the strata field to ensure a holistic view of the property reforms.

In late November SCA (Qld) had a unique opportunity to speak to the attorney-general directly and brief him on the strata sector and our issues. The meeting focused on our Dirty 17 list that outlined the most pressing problems and proposed solutions the SCA (Qld) Legislation Committee has explored based on member feedback. The overarching recommendation to the attorney-general is to empower communities to make their own decisions in a democratic way: for example, to make restrictive by-laws by resolution without dissent on smoking on balconies and pets if they so wish. Body corporate members feel disempowered when they end up in the magistrates court over a by-law clause that the new owners signed when they purchased the lot but then argue against it. Giving back the power to the owners is the only way to ensure owners live in strata communities they love and continue to shape. Self-governing will also reduce unnecessary
court actions freeing up our courts for relevant disputes.

The attorney-general was positive that the Dirty 17 list holds recommendations that have merit and will be addressed very soon. On the list we also asked for a relaxation of the requirement for approval of termination of a scheme as currently in effect a unanimous resolution would be needed. SCA (Qld) has long debated the ageing issues strata schemes are frequently faced with, in particular at the Gold Coast. It is obvious that as buildings reach the end of their life, termination may be the only commercially viable option yet many owners fear the demolition and re-building of schemes. There are however opportunities to re-build better with the original owners ending up in a much preferred scheme with often an improved market value of their lot.

Our meeting with the attorney-general concluded on a positive note with some indications that our raised issues are relevant and if changed accordingly would result in positive changes for owners in strata schemes. As the sector grows by 10,000 lots each year the focus is on maintaining and improving the quality of living in strata communities.

Hence the property law review in 2014 is an exciting opportunity for everyone living and working in strata to have their say and sort out the issues. Everything needs to be on the table as part of this review. Everyone needs to have a voice.

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