02 Aug Major changes to strata laws

Posted at 09:00h in News, Strata by

Major changes to strata laws

With the first major reforms to strata laws in over 40 years, you can be certain that CRM Brokers is here to help you understand the proposed changes and how they affect you and your business.

The proposed changes include:

Modern forms of communication are now allowed for greater participation in schemes. Including new options for your strata scheme to keep and issue electronic records, issue email updates and attend meetings ‘virtually’.
The reforms would accommodate meeting attendance through social media, video and teleconference. They would also enable owners corporations flexibility to determine when their annual general meetings are held.

Create a new democratic process for collective sale and renewal of strata schemes. Under the proposed reforms, 75% of owners can agree to end their strata scheme.

We have had contact from a number of our clients regarding Disclosure of Commissions and the need to obtain three (3) insurance quotes. The extracts from the bill are as follows:

60 Disclosure of commissions
(1) A strata managing agent for a strata scheme must report the following at the annual general meeting of the owners corporation for the scheme:
(a) whether any commissions have been paid to the agent (other than by the owners corporation) in connection with the exercise by the agent of functions for the scheme during the preceding 12 months and particulars of any such commissions,
(b) any such commissions and the estimated amount of any such commissions that the agent believes are likely to be received by the agent in the following 12 months.(2) A strata managing agent must, as soon as practicable after becoming aware that commissions paid to the agent (other than by the owners corporation) differ from the commissions or any estimate of commissions disclosed at the annual general meeting, disclose to the strata committee the variation and give an explanation for the variation.167 Strata managing agent to obtain insurance quotations
A strata managing agent must provide the owners corporation with not less than 3 quotations from different providers for each type of insurance proposed by the agent to the owners corporation or provide written reasons to the owners corporation if less than 3 quotations are provided.

 

Proxy Voting reforms seek to curb proxy farming; ensuring all owners get a fair say in the way their scheme is managed.  The reforms would limit the number of proxy votes able to be held to:

  • one proxy vote only for schemes with less than 20 lots, or
  • 5% for schemes with more than 20 lots.

Proposed changes to By-Laws would aim to:

  • establish a common sense approach to owner renovations through a three-tier approach, from cosmetic changes to external renovations, in order to improve day to day living in strata.
  • enter into an agreement with the local council to manage unauthorised parking on the common property.
  • allow owners corporations to make a by-law limiting the number of people who can reside in a lot so that strata schemes are able to better manage overcrowding

These are just a select few of the proposed changes, however you can view the Strata Schemes Management Bill and Strata Schemes Development Bill on the Fair Trading website.

CRM Brokers has developed a number of solutions for dealing with the proposed changes, so please do not hesitate to CRM Brokers Strata on 1300 880 494 or [email protected].

 

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