Have your say on new strata regulations

Published 10th May 2016

The NSW Government has released the draft regulations to support the major strata law changes that were passed in October 2015 to modernise strata laws.

The NSW Department of Fair trading invite you to have your say on the draft Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 and draft Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016 by 27 May 2016. These regulations set out the detail for how the laws will operate. The laws are expected to start in late 2016.

Key areas of reform

The draft Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 includes details such as:

• requirements to ensure that building assets are better maintained
• a streamlined process for owners seeking to make changes to their lot
• a new process for dealing with abandoned goods or motor vehicles
• the use of electronic voting and communication methods to support more informed and inclusive strata communities.

NSW Fair Trading will administer this regulation, and the Act that it supports.

The draft Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016 provides necessary detail to support the new strata collective sale and renewal  process, which was part of the law package passed last year. The regulation defines how a valuer must determine the unit entitlements, which are used to establish the levy contributions and voting power. Also under the regulation, changes of by-laws will need to be lodged to NSW Land and Property Information (LPI) as a consolidated set of by-laws.

Apart from these new provisions, the regulation continues to set standards for the preparation of strata plans.

LPI will administer this regulation, and the Act that it supports.    

How to have your say

The following documents will help you consider the regulations and how they will work:

• Regulatory Impact Statement - Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 (PDF: 940kb)
• Regulatory Impact Statement - Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016 (PDF: 1.1mb)

Remember, this is your chance to comment on changes you believe will help the regulation operate effectively. For more details and to have your say, visit our Reform of strata laws page.

For general enquiries about the strata reforms, please call 13 32 20 or lodge an enquiry. You can also refer to our Frequently asked questions – strata reforms page.