New strata laws are great, but I can’t get an answer about undies on the balcony

It was with considerable pride that NSW Fair Trading announced the new strata laws that came into force at the beginning of last month. And to be fair, it was trumpeting an impressive menu of law changes.

For a start, strata law was brought under Australian consumer regulations for the first time and that had an immediate effect.

Strata Community Association NSW – the state’s strata managers’ professional body – had already amended the terms of its standard contract to accommodate the new rules. This does, however, beg the question of what was wrong with the contracts before they were amended.

Embedded network contracts will be limited to three years. That should, in theory, put paid to the commonplace scam where a developer of a new building does a deal with a services provider or infrastructure installer to get a discount, provided they persuade off-the-plan buyers to pay the difference, often more, via grossly inflated service contracts. One that I encountered recently expected off-the-plan strata neophytes to sign a 15-year contract that allowed fees to be increased every year by 10 per cent.

There are many excellent changes in the new laws. Alterations to common property that involve sustainability improvements – such as double-glazed windows or electric vehicle charging – now only require a simple majority vote in favour.

That will sidestep the super-majority of 75 per cent, with its built-in naysayer veto, that other special resolutions require. And only the most precious heritage buildings can refuse sustainability improvements on the grounds that they would change the look of the block.

One change that should delight any owner who’s ever been ignored, abused and dismissed by a strata committee is that members are now legally required to act honestly, fairly and lawfully. On top of that, committee chairs are now compelled to run meetings in an orderly manner, encouraging open debate and civilised discussion. Good luck with that!

Meanwhile, owners corporations or strata committees can’t just slide requests for minor renovations into their “too-hard” basket. If the applicant doesn’t get an answer in three months, it can be taken as approval. If they are refused, reasons have to be given in writing.

There are many other changes and strata managers have been producing videos and webinars explaining them at the production rate of Bollywood films. You can get the details for yourself on the government’s housing and construction strata web page.

But who is going to police these new rules? In the realpolitik of strata, in most cases it’s still the owners who have to pursue miscreants, and they do so with little help from Fair Trading and even less from the Attorney-General’s Department, which administers the tribunals where disputes are resolved.

Ask Fair Trading whether something is likely to be considered a breach and it will tell you only a tribunal can decide. Ask A-G’s and it’ll tell you strata is a matter for Fair Trading.

But what does “honestly and fairly” mean in the context of a strata committee? How out-of-control does a committee meeting have to get before the chair is deemed to be at fault?

Asked whether the new sustainability laws meant buildings could no longer ban residents from drying laundry on their balconies – a contentious issue in many apartment blocks – the response from Fair Trading was studied silence. We need Fair Trading to take up legal cudgels on significant matters, if only to establish precedents. Otherwise, we will be gambling our own time and our buildings’ money on what we think and hope the new laws mean.

Challenging your bylaws at the tribunal is a daunting prospect and you will quickly make enemies among your neighbours. Tribunal costs are usually borne by the warring parties, and that means an impost on your levies, win or lose.

But legal precedent is important. It’s worth remembering that the laws allowing pets in strata – which quickly spread around Australia – were established through one owner challenging her building’s bylaws all the way to the Court of Appeal. And until Fair Trading steps up and runs a few test cases, the answers to questions about what the new laws really mean will, unlike your undies, be blowing in the wind.

Jimmy Thomson edits flatchat.com.au, a strata-living advice website.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.