Roundup: Different strokes for strata folks

It’s been a big week here in StrataLand, with the release of the regulations to go along with the new NSW strata laws that are due to come in on November 30 (elsewhere on this page).

Oddly enough, two people on the same day told me that they assumed that other states’ strata legislation would take NSW’s lead and come up with very similar laws.

Where do people get these ideas?  As we know, whenever our state lawmakers turn their attention to strata reform, the first thing they do is look at what other states are doing and decide not to do it.

We’ll call the body corporate the Owners Corporation, says NSW and Victoria. Big deal, says Queensland, we are sticking with Body Corporate.  A pox on all your houses, says WA.  We’re going with Strata Company.

OK, says NSW, in the spirit of common understanding, we will call our executive committees, strata committees, just like they do in Victoria.  Huh, says Queensland, we’re sticking with ‘executive’.  Really? says WA. We’re going with Strata Council.

One state has by-laws, the other has rules; one has “provisional” special resolutions, the other doesn’t; one requires a majority vote before you can employ lawyers, the other demands a special resolution.

The pre-sale of caretaker contracts  – a nice little earner for developers that means owners don’t get to choose who runs their buildings –  is strictly forbidden in most states.  The exception is Queensland where it is enshrined in law, ensuring that whatever they do there, it will always have a whiff of white shoe.

So, no, the other states won’t just follow suit with strata law reforms … not as long as there are states.

Enough of that.  On the Flat Chat Forum we are still getting to grips with the existing laws, as these posts confirm.

• What are your options when your pet approval application is rejected? That’s HERE.
• Can the EC charge the owners for expenses for attending a Fair Trading mediation? That’s HERE.
• Two owners try to bully the rest of the block into selling them common property for exclusive gardens. That’s HERE.
• Double trouble in two-unit strata scheme as one owner illegally subdivides his townhouse. That’s HERE.
• Who pays when EC chair replaces their lot’s common property wiring without permission? That’s HERE.
• Can an EC defer a decision or must it approve or deny? That’s HERE.