Important Changes to Strata Law on and from 1 July 2021

1 July 2021 has of course seen a new financial year commence, but also brings with it some important changes to the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW). 

The two most important changes are as follows: 

NCAT Applications: 

Any application that is made to the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) is now required to provide any application lodged by any person to the Owners Corporation of the relevant strata scheme. Importantly, for the Owners Corporation there is now an obligation for the Owners Corporation to serve a copy of the Application on each and every lot owner. This is a change from the previous law where it was sufficient to place a copy of the application on the notice board. 

This can be quite onerous for the Owners Corporation, particularly where the owners may not reside within the complex, so ensuring detailed owner records are kept is now even more important than ever. 

Contravention of NCAT Orders

The amendments also now enable an application to be made to the Tribunal for a monetary penalty for breaching any NCAT Order. The penalty can be anywhere up to $5,500.00.

If you have any questions about these changes, please do not hesitate to contact one of our lawyers who would be happy to assist you.