Management rights, like all industries, change and evolve over time. One of the biggest changes I have seen in recent years is the sale process itself. In the good old days, contracts were regularly prepared and settled on the basis of: • Financial verification – 14...Read More
What is Community Title? I recently wrote an article that explained the difference between community title and strata title in NSW. To recap, a good example of a community title is a gated community estate where there may be say 20 houses, each separated by boundaries...Read More
THREE THINGS TO DO IN RESPONSE TO A VAGUE RECORD COPY REQUEST Here are two-real life examples: “I request copies of all correspondence from any unit owner to the body corporate requesting for the program of works relating to the water penetration into unit [XYZ] be...Read More
INTERNAL EMAILS BETWEEN COMMITTEE MEMBERS – PUBLIC OR PRIVATE? We are often asked, do emails between committee members form part of the records of a body corporate? The answer is…it depends (so you need to read on). Internal communications This is a critical question...Read More
FURTHER PENDING CHANGES TO THE ROLE OF BUILDING MANAGERS IN NSW – PART 2 In last month’s article, I outlined some of the key issues raised in the current review by the NSW Government of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and Strata Schemes Development Act 2015....Read More
DO STATUTORY EASEMENTS ALLOW OWNERS TO DISREGARD THE BY-LAWS? A 29-month dispute about the location of an owner’s air conditioning unit has been decided by the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with the body corporate coming out on top. The case The case...Read More
PENDING CHANGES TO THE ROLE OF BUILDING MANAGERS IN NSW – PART 1 BACKGROUND The Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 and the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 jointly provide the regulatory framework for the creation, governance and termination of strata schemes...Read More
UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN OLD SYSTEM, TORRENS, COMPANY, STRATA AND COMMUNITY TITLES IN NSW There are different title systems for ownership of property in NSW. The following is a snapshot summary of the different ownership. Old System Title In the early...Read More
FROM THE GROUND UP – THE APPLICATION OF NEW STRA LAWS IN NSW About a year ago, some operators of short-term rental accommodation (STRA) in New South Wales started hearing a strange noise in the air and naturally assumed it was the sound of the sky falling. As the...Read More
CAN A BODY CORPORATE WITHHOLD AN OWNER’S ACCESS TO A LAWYER’S WRITTEN ADVICE? Let’s take look at this scenario: A body corporate believes that an owner is in breach of the scheme by-laws or that a caretaker is in breach of the management rights agreement. The...Read More
