Strata law in NSW is being reformed with some key amendments to the Strata Titles Act set to take affect late this year. At present draft legislation has been proposed and public consultation has closed. All submissions are currently being considered by the Office of Fair Trading. Some of the proposed changes are:

Proposed changes related to Pets 

Current model by-laws which allow Owners' Corporations to refuse owners to have pets, will be replaced with one by-law which states that approval from the Owners’ Corporation is required for owners to keep a pet and such approval cannot be unreasonably withheld. The amended model by-laws will make it easier to keep pets, as opposed to automatically prohibiting pet ownership in a scheme. There may be some exemptions for smaller pets but each case will be considered on its own merits.

Proposed changes related to Parking

There will be changes to enable Owners’ Corporations to enter into agreements with local councils and also authorised Council officers to able to erect signs and issue fines in relation to unauthorised parking on common property.

Proposed changes related to Smoking

Changes on strengthening current laws will occur to enable Owners’ Corporations to enforce bans if hazardous smoke drift occurs between lot space.

It is also proposed that if a developer can convince 75% of lot owners to sell for redevelopment then every owner in the block will be forced to sell despite the wishes of the remaining 25%. In addition, strata schemes will become more flexible, in some situations tenants will be able to participate in Owners' Corporation meetings and the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal will have greater powers with respect to strata disputes and unpaid levies.