Strata Regulatory Watch
July 2020
Dear clients, friends and industry colleagues,
We predicted 2020 would be a big year for the strata industry, just not quite like how it has turned out. We hope everyone is keeping safe and well during this time.
While Covid-19 has been the catalyst for a lot of the regulatory change since our last newsletter, Western Australia has introduced their new strata laws while NSW has introduced some important building and construction legislation and further regulation on short term rental accommodation.
Queensland, Victoria and the ACT are also getting closer to introducing some major changes to their strata title laws.
If there is anything in this newsletter of particular interest to your team, please get in touch. We'd be happy to send you more information or present it in more detail.
Short-term rental accommodation regulation in NSW
On 10th April 2020, the NSW Government introduced the new section 137A of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 which enables an owners corporation to pass a by-law to prohibit a lot being used for the purposes of a short-term rental accommodation (STRA) arrangement where the lot is not the principle place of residence of the lot owner.
A presentation on these new regulations around STRA can be accessed from our web site by clicking the link below.
Our Sydney team is available to review and advise on the validity of any existing STRA by-laws in your scheme and provide a comprehensive section 137A by-law. Our team is also available to work with committees and strata managers on developing a comprehensive set of draft by-laws to regulate STRA in anticipation of the remainder of the draft regulatory framework (including the code of conduct) being finalised and implemented by the NSW Government.
NSW building industry reforms
On 11 June 2020 the NSW Parliament enacted one of its key reforms to restore confidence in the NSW building industry by passing the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) (the Act).
The legislation is being implemented in 2 stages. The first is the commencement of the duty of care for buildings. The second (starting on 1 July 2021) will concentrate on the construction aspect by implementing a registration and certification regime.
The most notable change is the creation of a statutory duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss caused by defects, owed by builders, designers, manufacturers and project managers. This is effective immediately. This applies to new buildings, and existing buildings where an economic loss first became apparent in the previous 10 years.
The Fair Trading web site has a good summary of the key reforms of the Act, including the changes about to be introduced on 1 September 2020 by the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 (the RAB Act). The NSW Building Commissioner, David Chandler OAM recently published an article on the LookUpStrata web site which outlines the regulator's upcoming powers to investigate defects in residential apartment buildings pursuant to the RAB Act. View the article here.
Shout-out to Strata Community Australia (SCA)
We'd like to send a shout-out to everyone at SCA - the executive and support teams and our industry colleagues that donate their time and expertise to SCA. Over the last few months, SCA has shown great leadership and support during what has been a difficult time for the industry with regular updates, advice, webinars and best practice guides. They have also played an important role in ensuring important legislative changes were pushed through quickly to support strata managers, committees, owners and residents of strata communities. So from everyone at BAL, thank you!
Disposal of goods on common property in NSW
From 1 July 2020, new laws apply to the disposal of goods abandoned on strata common property. The Uncollected Goods Act 1995 ("Act") gives the person in possession of the goods the right to dispose of them after a certain amount of time. The amount of time and manner of disposal depends on the type and value of the goods. The Act has also introduced some notice and record keeping requirements for strata managers and Owners Corporations.
Previously this was regulated by the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, but after this new legislation has come into force and after the amendment of various Acts, it is now regulated by the Act. The Department of Fair Trading has created a helpful summary of these new changes, which can be accessed here.
Changes to strata laws in response to Covid-19
On 5th June 2020 the Strata Schemes Management Amendment (Covid-19) Regulation 2020 and the Community Schemes Management Amendment (Covid-19) Regulation 2020 came into effect.
Our team has written a short summary of the main changes for NSW Owners Corporations which is available in our Covid-19 Knowledge Base. SCA NSW has also developed a lot of helpful content on their web site. Click the link below to access our summary article:
New strata laws in WA
The amended Strata Titles Act 1985 took effect on 1 May 2020. There are grace periods set for some of the new requirements, especially the ones relating to licensing and training requirements of strata managers. A summary of the changes and the timeline for the implementation of changes can be found here.
Our team has done an extensive review of the new WA strata laws and what it means for strata managers, strata companies and service providers like software companies. Please get in contact if you have any questions about the new laws.
Community title regulation in WA still pending
For the first time, Western Australia is introducing community titles although it is not just land subdivision as we know it in NSW. The community titles legislation in WA will assist with the design and delivery of mixed-use and higher-density development by enabling two types of structure:
- a built form like a strata scheme, called a community titles (building) scheme, and/or
- a community titles (land) scheme which will have surveyed boundaries like a survey-strata scheme.
The proposed Community Titles (General) Regulations 2020 have been finalised and delivered to Parliament. Landgate WA's strata web site states they will be released in "2020/2021".
Changes to ACT strata laws coming soon
New strata laws are coming to the ACT from 1 November 2020. The changes address the following broad areas and principles:
- Voting: making it fairer
- Administration and finances: streamlining process and focusing on the things that matter
- Levies: allowing more flexibility
- Disputes: adding options for resolving conflict
- Buyer beware: sharing information and making the developer accountable
- Pets: making it easier for people to keep pets
You can read all about the reforms on the ACT Government's web site.
Update on regulatory changes from last newsletter
Below is a quick update on the regulatory changes planned for NSW, VIC, WA and QLD which we reported in our last edition:
- Short-term rental accommodation (STRA) changes in NSW - first stage now live. The 2nd stage which includes an industry register and code of conduct still to come.
- WA's new strata regulations - released!
- QLD body corporate law changes - no further update.
- Strata reforms in Victoria - no further update.
STAFF ARTICLES
Covid Q&A Knowledge Base
When Covid first hit we realised there would be a lot of questions about the ongoing functioning of our strata developments and communities so we created an online Q&A Knowledge Base. It is a free service that our clients and the general public can use if you have any legal questions relating to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic on your development project, strata management business or strata community. Below is a short selection of some of the questions and responses from our team.
TEAM NEWS
We are pleased to welcome three new members to our Brisbane team. These are:
- Sally Andersen - Senior Associate
- Jaime McIver - Solicitor
- Ashwin Devanathan - Solicitor
Sally will be working in our Development Consulting and Strata Advisory team, while Jaime joins our Queensland Litigation practice. Ashwin will be supporting both teams and will also be working with our CEO on some of our technology initiatives.
Get in Touch
If you have any questions in relation to this regulatory newsletter, or you would like to know more, please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team on 07 3905 9260 (Brisbane) or 02 9199 1055 (Sydney), visit our web site or contact us via email at info@bugdenallenlawyers.com.au
Disclaimer
Nothing in this newsletter is intended to be legal advice. You should seek legal advice tailored to your scheme’s specific circumstances. The information in this newsletter and on our web site are of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although we endeavour to provide accurate and timely information, we do not guarantee that the information in this newsletter is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future.