The Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment Bill was introduced to Parliament in November of last year and is awaiting the 2nd reading debate. Most notably, the Bill proposed to amend s106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. The Bill permits owners to bring claims for damages, in the case of loss suffered arising from failure to repair and maintain common property. This occurs usually through water damage.
The damages claimable under s106 were previously very broad, with actions claimable within 2 years of the date that the owner is first alerted to the loss. The amendment Bill will extend this statutory limitation period to 6 years. This will prevent owners corporations from circumventing meritorious clams relating to latent defects.
The amendments will also:
- Increase disclosure obligations for strata managers.
- Introduce a new statutory duty onto building managers to act in the best interests of the owners corporation.
- Require new duties for strata committee members (improving committee governance, undertaking training).
- Increase accountability for developers relating to initial maintenance and handover (e.g. accumulating penalties for failing to provide construction documents to the owners corporation at the first AGM).
See more at the link attached: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/bills/Pages/bill-details.aspx?pk=18688