Community Land Development and Management Act 2021

Reforms to Community Title Legislation

The Community Land Development Act 2021 and the Community Land Management Act 2021, and their corresponding regulations, will commence on 1 December 2021.

They will replace the 1989 legislation which are now 31 years old. The reforms align the community schemes legislation with the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 for much-needed consistency while accounting for important differences between strata and community title.

The new laws will modernise and simplify the development process of community schemes within NSW, revising many provisions that have continuously caused frustrations for owners of community schemes.

The reforms provide more flexibility in dealing with association property, improvements to dispute resolution, limitations on proxies, decrease level of resolutions required in numerous matters, enhanced accountability and transparency, and modernisation of communications and procedures.

The new legislation are published on the NSW Legislation website:

Community Land Development Act 2021

Community Land Development Regulation 2021

Community Land Management Act 2021

Community Land Management Regulation 2021

Some key changes to the Community Land Management Act 2021 include:

• increased penalties for by-law breaches
• a limit on the number of proxies able to be held by any person and limits the matters for which a priority vote can be used
• promotion of compliance by managing agents by including strict liability offences
• a condition that a by-law cannot be “harsh, unconscionable or oppressive” to be in line with the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW)
• better flexibility on meetings, voting and documentation, allowing for alternative methods of attendance at meetings including social media, video and teleconferencing, postal or electronic voting and secret ballots
• a tenant representative can be appointed to a neighbourhood committee
• the time within which a notification of a change to by-laws must be lodged with the Registrar General has been increased from two months to six months
• additional rights under section 129 permitting an association’s by-laws to impose occupancy limits
• where levy estimates by a developer prove to be inadequate and the developer is required to pay compensation
• the original owner must prepare an initial maintenance schedule for the maintenance of the association property
• agreements for the supply of utilities (electricity, gas or other) with a neighbourhood association will automatically expire at either the first annual general meeting (AGM), or in any other case three years after the date on which it commenced
• tenants to provide the association with an address (to enable sending of notices and agendas, etc), and this address may be an email address
• provision of a framework for the resolution of disputes.

Some key changes to the Community Land Development Act 2021 include:

• the removal of restrictions on associations and owners from purchasing adjoining land outside of the community, precinct or neighbourhood scheme
• simplification of the amalgamation process for subsidiary precinct and neighbourhood schemes with parent community schemes
• simplification of the end of the initial period for community or precinct schemes when there is no subsidiary scheme. The initial period ends when the Occupational Certificate has been granted
• the use of special resolutions to add land to schemes, subdivide association property, or transfer association property.
• the ability to terminate a scheme through the Registrar General’s office.

Change to terminology
There are several changes in terminology over the two Acts:

• ‘Sinking fund’ to ‘Capital works fund’ to be in line with the Strata Schemes Management Act and the Retirement Villages Act 1999.
• Committees are now to be known as ‘association committees’ rather than the ‘executive committee’
• ‘Caretaker’ is to be known as a ‘building manager’ to be in line with the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.

What do these changes mean for community associations?

Existing management statements and by-laws should be reviewed in light of these legislative changes as any by-law inconsistent with the new legislation, are not likely to be enforceable.

The time to register an amendment is now extended to six months rather than the previous two months under the old act.

Amendments to the by-laws of a Community Association is now governed by section 131 and 135  of the new Community Land Management Act 2021, which places a general requirement for a special resolution to amend the management statement.

For more information, contact your strata + manager