NSW Strata Watch seeks permission to enter blocks of flats without warrant, fines owners if common property not maintained

The New South Wales Government has introduced a new package of social reforms to Parliament that it says sets a “high water mark” for sections of the state.

However, one significant part of the bill did not receive the attention it deserved during Fair Trading Minister Anulak Chanthivong’s speech to Parliament. on Wednesday.

Under the proposed changes, NSW Fair Trading is seeking new powers to enter any block of flats in the state without a warrant if there are reasonable grounds to believe the owners corporation is not maintaining the common property.

Individual apartments will also be entered with a warrant or consent, and apartment owners will be forced to surrender paperwork, agree to an interview and confiscate items from the home or face a $2,200 fine.

In a statement, a NSW Fair Trading spokesperson said: “The new investigative powers are for the purposes of investigating and enforcing the owner corporation’s responsibilities for the maintenance and repair of common property only.”

An owners corporation, formerly known as a body corporate, is a collective term for the owners of individual lots within a strata scheme.

“Government in my bedroom is not what we need.”

Previously, the regulator was given powers to enter new apartment buildings only to force developers to fix building defects.

These powers will now be extended to cover all existing buildings and be used to force owner corporations to comply with their obligations.

NSW Fair Trading said the proposed changes were subject to “extensive public consultation” and were recommended as part of a mandatory legislative review in 2021.

However, Owners Corporation Network (OCN) executive director Shari Driver, who is part of a key advocacy group representing condo owners, said OCN did not ask for the change.

Ms Driver said she feared this could lead to unintended privacy consequences.

“Government in my bedroom is not what we want,” Ms. Driver said.

Ms Driver said the new powers were similar to those given to the NSW Building Commissioner, but were now aimed at individual apartment owners rather than developers and associated companies.

Failure to comply with the law may result in large fines

Strata lawyer Amanda Farmer said it was an “extraordinary intrusion” on private property, but she believed it was necessary.

Ms Farmer, a council member of the Australian Strata College of Lawyers, said many of her clients were living in damp, moldy homes because their buildings were failing to meet their obligations.

She said their only option was to spend thousands of dollars on lawsuits, but that will now change.

“For the first time, the government can intervene in old, established buildings without due process if there is a suspicion that the building has violated its legal obligation to properly repair and maintain its property,” she said.

Under the bill, the “secretary”, who is NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Natasha Mann, or her designee, can also “open, cut or demolish building structures” and use “reasonable force to break… a floor or wall”. during verification.

The regulator will also have the power to issue compliance notices, apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an order or make an enforceable undertaking to compel action.

If the owners corporation still refuses to repair the common property, it will be an offense with a maximum fine of $22,000 and further fines accruing on a daily basis.

Alisha Fisher, chief executive of the Strata Community Association, said while privacy concerns were understandable, the provisions would “effectively address important maintenance and repair issues while ensuring the safety and functionality of common property.”

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