Pet owners are winners in strata law overhaul

Among proposed changes tabled in Parliament this week, owners involved in disputes over the collective sales of strata blocks will have to declare conflicts of interest and could run the risk of having legals costs awarded against them if they oppose redevelopment of an ageing block because they lost in a bidding war.

At present, the majority of owners can end up paying the costs of disgruntled developers who own units in the building but failed in their efforts to develop the property.

Where strata schemes are seriously dysfunctional, Fair Trading will under the proposed changes be able to apply for the compulsory appointment of strata managers to take over the management from the owners corporations and strata committees.

At present, only owners can do this and they may feel too intimidated or lack the knowledge to proceed.

And all schemes – not just large ones – will have to get at least two quotes for any work costing more than $30,000.

Finally, NSW has a new strata commissioner. Well, part of one. This week the state government appointed current Property Services Commissioner John Minns to the role of Strata and Property Services Commissioner.

That news may be less “whoo-hoo!” and more “Who? Huh?” to many.

Minns is a very capable guy with a solid background in property services, who has been wrangling real estate agents and strata managers for the past couple of years.

In a presse release the state government declared that “elevating strata into the commissioner’s role will make him responsible for oversight and reform across the whole sector, with strata at the centre".

Will it really see strata at the centre of government thinking?

It sounds more like a side-hustle for a man who has enough on his hands dealing with dodgy real estate agents and dangerously incompetent strata managers.

The press release issued this week came with supportive quotes from the Customer Services minister, the Fair Trading minister, the president of the Strata Communities Association – the strata managers’ professional body – and …

Actually, that was it. There was nothing from the strata owners, even those represented by the Owners Corporation Network (OCN).

So much for being at the centre.

The big question will be how well-resourced or otherwise Minns is.

He already has the proposed legal changes on his agenda plus, down the line, a few trickier recommendations that have put on the back burner.

This column is bold enough to add a couple of things to his "to do" list: strata really needs a fast-tracked and well-informed dispute resolution system.

And he might want to build a few bridges with the strata community.

Right now, he looks like the strata managers’ man in Macquarie St, and that’s not a good impression.