Archive for the "Sector News" Category
Remedial building work
The NSW Department of Planning and Environment has released a new fact sheet aimed at shedding light on the complexities of remedial building work under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020. This is a significant step in aiding remedial practitioners, owners corporations, and strata managers to navigate the intricacies of their obligations. The fact […]
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New Reforms to Strata Laws
New reforms on the cards for NSW Strata Laws The New South Wales Government is embarking on more significant reforms of strata laws, aiming to create a fairer and more transparent system for community living. With over 85,000 strata schemes in NSW compared to just 50,000 in 1996 and an additional 1,000 new – and […]
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Remedial Works, the DBP Act
and Planning Approvals
Planning approvals & the DBP Act for strata remedial works In a recent interview with Helen Kowal, Partner at Swaab, we discussed the implications of the recent legislative and regulatory reforms in the construction industry of New South Wales. These reforms, while widely acknowledged as necessary for enhancing the quality of construction work in both […]
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Appointment of a Rental Commissioner
The NSW Government has opened a new front in property market reform with the appointment of Rental Commissioner Trina Jones. Ms Jones, previously Homelessness NSW CEO, steps into the at-times fraught space between landlords and tenants amid headlines about a housing crisis after a sustained period of rising rents and falling vacancies. She will be […]
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Can NCAT enforce a by-law?
Strata committees have been reminded that there are limits to their discretion in enforcing by-laws. While there is room for interpretation about a tolerable amount of noise or what’s allowed on balconies, a recent NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) decision took a harder line on by-laws authorising work on individual lots. Recent NCAT case […]
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Strata Insights Report 2022
Insights into strata living from University of NSW City Futures Research Centre With the Strata Community Association funding, the University of NSW City Futures Research Centre has published its latest Strata Insights report for 2022. It provides valuable insights on long-term trends for investors, developers and anyone with a professional or personal interest in strata […]
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Developer rating system
A new dawn for new apartments A new developer rating system is transforming the market for off-the-plan apartments in good news for buyers. A recent webinar hosted by our partners Owners Corporation Network highlighted how far reform of the residential apartment construction sector has come since the Opal Tower and Mascot Towers defects disasters in […]
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Compliance obligations for remedial building works
Owners corporation obligations under the DBP Act Remedial building works involving rectification, corrective actions, or upgrades for deteriorating building elements in ageing apartment buildings or defect rectification in new apartment buildings is covered under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (DBP Act) and Design and Building Practitioners Regulation 2021 (DBP Regulation). This means that […]
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