You may be aware that the NSW Government is proposing sweeping changes to the existing Strata Laws. The State Government has now released a so-called position-paper in which they outline their proposed changes.
This law reform is aimed at protecting residents and at the same time simplify certain processes. This becomes increasingly important in NSW where over 25% of the people live or work in strata and community schemes, and where by 2040 more than 50% city housing will be apartments.
More than 2,000 submissions and 1,200 online comments were made on the 2012 discussion paper. The next step will be to draft the Community Scheme Bills, before consultation on the draft legislation in 2015. It will be a while before these changes are enshrined into Law.
Key proposed changes include:
- Committee members will be required to “act with due care and diligence” and disclose any potential conflicts of interest
- A limit will be put on the number of proxies able to be held by any person, and limit the matters in which a priority vote can be used
- Restriction of developers’ rights to vote on matters relating to building defects
- Better ways to improve parking within schemes
- Meetings can be attended in various forms, including social media, video and teleconferencing
We will keep you posted of developments. In the meanwhile, if you have any questions or concerns feel free to contact us!