News & Publications
Righting Discrepancies in Strata Plans: What happens when “Shared” Common Property Hot Water Systems are not Used by All Lots?
Can a by-law make some by not all lot owners responsible for common property costs? And can the Tribunal make orders requiring an owners corporation repay contributions? The Appeal Panel in The Owners – Strata Plan No 76830 v Byron Moon Pty Limited [2020] NSWCATAP 186...
NSW Government sets residential developers in its sights
Snapshot The Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 imposes greater obligations on developers and introduces significant investigative and enforcement powers for the NSW Government. Developers are now obliged to notify the...
What is a Qualified Request? If I make a Qualified Request is The Owners Corporation Able to Charge me for the Cost of Organising and Holding the Meeting?
Sections 19(2) to 19(4) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (the Act) deal with qualified requests. A request is a qualified request if it is made by one or more owners of a lot or lots in the strata scheme which have a total unit entitlement of at least...
The Importance of Disclosure
A recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia has highlighted the importance of making all relevant disclosures in the course of applying for an insurance policy, and the repercussions that the withholding of such disclosures may have on the enforceability of...
ACT Inquiry into Building Quality
On 23 July 2020 the Standing Committee on Economic Development and Tourism tabled its report on the Inquiry into Building Quality and made 48 recommendations (see...
ACT Case Note: MCMILLAN & ANOR v OWNERS CORPORATION – UNITS PLAN NO 79 (Unit Titles) [2019] ACAT 86
The applicants are unit owners in the respondent’s strata complex consisting of 88 class A units, 84 of which have an entry way comprising a floor to ceiling combined window/door (the window/door). On the upper levels the window/door opens onto a balcony, and on the...
ACT Case Note: VICTORY HOMES PTY LTD v CONSTRUCTION OCCUPATIONS REGISTRAR & ANOR (Administrative Review) [2020] ACAT 53
This application was for review of a decision by the respondent on 22 March 2019 to make a rectification order pursuant to section 38 of the Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 (COLA) requiring the applicant to take certain stated actions to rectify building...
What to Expect from Your Strata Manager?
What strata owners should expect from their strata managers and what services are and are not included as part of a strata manager’s duties can be a heated topic. The Acts dealing with a strata manager’s functions are analysed below. Under section 3 of the Property...
Can a By-law be Challenged while a Scheme is Under Compulsory Management?
In Morgan-Jones & Ufert v The Owners Strata Plan No 15599 [2019] NSWCATAP 187, the applicants, who owned a lot in the scheme, sought to challenge two of the scheme’s by-laws under section 150 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 while the scheme was under...
Latest Australasian Strata Insights Research has been released by City Futures Research Centre
The latest research from UNSW’s City Futures Research Centre providing an update into strata and community title schemes has been released.
ACT case note: De Gruchy v The Owners – Units Plan No 3989 [2020] ACTSC 65
The plaintiff was the owner of an apartment spanning part of the top two floors of the Nishi Residential Building. At various intervals throughout the day and night, the plaintiff argued that the expansion and contraction of the roof and walls of the building created...
Extended public health emergency declaration period
On 30 April 2020, sections 3 and 111 of the Unit Titles Legislation Amendment Act 2020 and the Unit Titles (Management) Amendment Regulation 2020 (No 1) commenced. The combined effect of the above is that an owners corporation and the executive committee of an owners...