On 2 March 2025, the Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment Act 2025 was formally assented to.
The Act, first introduced in November 2024, implements a wide range of reforms to the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and its equivalent for community associations, the Community Land Management Act 2021.
These reforms include increasing the obligations and responsibilities on committee members and building managers, improving the process of levy recovery and increasing NSW Fair Trading's ability to investigate failures to repair and maintain common property.
Of note to owners are the amendments to section 106(6) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, extending the time to make a claim under the section from 2 years to 6 years.
Section 106 provides an owner with a cause of action, where the owner suffers losses arising from an owners corporation's failure to comply with its strict duty to repair and maintain the common property. Under this section, an owner can typically seek orders for repair and maintenance to be carried out and to claim loss of rent and replacement of damaged goods.
Extending the time to make a section 106 claim to 6 years, in conjunction with the amendments vastly expanding NSW Fair Trading's powers to investigate and issue penalties for an owners corporation's failure to maintain the common property, well be a welcome change for owners, ensuring that they are not left at the mercy of an intransigent owners corporation.
The changes to section 106 and the insertion of Part 10A (relating to the new NSW Fair Trading powers) are yet to come into force.
Click here for a copy of the Act.
Other strata reforms have now commenced
In our previous article, we discussed the reforms introduced by the Strata Managing Agents Legislation Amendment Act 2024 No 65 (SMALA Act).
The SMALA Act was aimed at increasing scrutiny on the strata management sector, in answer to concerns that strata management companies were receiving undisclosed commissions and charging excessive fees to their clients.
On 8 November 2024, a number of the schedules to the Act commenced.
As of 3 February 2025, the remainder of the provisions in the Act have also commenced. This second suite of changes implements the bulk of the new disclosure requirements regarding commissions and training received by strata managing agents.
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.
