If you own an apartment, townhouse or other strata-titled property, new laws affecting your Owners Corporation (OC), are due to take effect from 1 December 2021.
If you own an apartment, townhouse or other strata-titled property, new laws affecting your Owners Corporation (OC), are due to take effect from 1 December 2021.
These new laws coming into effect have been created with the goal of helping your OC operate as smoothly as possible in addressing common and lot property issues.
So, with that in mind, here are the five changes to Victorian OC laws most likely to affect you:
1. Maintenance plans
Within a multi-unit dwelling of 50 or more other lots, your OC is obligated by the new laws to prepare and approve a maintenance plan for common and lot property areas, such as car spaces, pools, gyms, and other facilities.
If you live on a shared property of 50 or less units, your OC isn’t bound by this requirement, but is still strongly encouraged to have a maintenance plan.
Your OC will be able to change aspects of the maintenance plan through the passage of an Ordinary Resolution by a majority of lot owners at a meeting.
On the subject of repairs, residents will be required by law to provide access to the OC upon request (with 7 days’ notice), for the purpose of ensuring that all common and lot property areas are maintained, as per any maintenance plan.
2. Disposal of abandoned goods
Provided a reasonable effort has been made to provide notice to a previous lot owner, Owners Corporations may elect to dispose of any abandoned goods and waste items left on common property areas under the new laws.
3. Alterations to lot appearance
The OC may make its own rules in the event that an owner decides to renovate or change the appearance of a lot.
This change to the Act is designed to empower the OC to ensure continued, quiet enjoyment of common property, structural integrity, and market value of the property.
4. Strata levies
Your strata levies may be charged differently, taking additional costs from the use of a lot into account.
Your OC will also be able to potentially charge you to cover insurance costs in the event of deliberate or accidental damage, or negligence. If you’re not insured, you could also be charged extra fees to cover common property damage.
You may also be ordered through a tribunal (VCAT) to pay ‘reasonable costs’ incurred by OCs in the process of chasing up any unpaid monies.
5. OC meetings and management
Non-attendance of Lot Owners at meetings has been identified among Owners Corporations as a longstanding issue, and this has been addressed with the introduction of an ‘Interim Special Resolution’ to keep maintenance and other essential services running if this occurs.
Interim special resolutions may be passed at a general meeting where a minimum number of attendees aren’t present, and there are no votes against it. This resolution may be passed, provided this isn’t done by a manager in relation to approving the budget or appointments and contracts.
Your OC manager is a valuable source of information on all things related to the property and can help to guide you through the new laws and regulations, as well as the existing ones.
Gregor Evans is the President of SCA (Vic), the peak body for Owners Corporations across Victoria. SCA (Vic) represents more than 80% of all professional owners corporation managers, with almost 800 members.
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