NSW landlords take heed. From next year out, the law will require that your tenants cannot be barred from having a pet, but they won’t be allowed to smoke on apartment balconies.
This is the result of sweeping strata law changes announced Tuesday by NSW Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts after an extensive review.
Roberts said in a speech at the annual Strata Community Australia Convention that growth in strata title across NSW over the last 50 years had prompted the changes.
Roberts pointed out that roughly 30% of people in the state either live or work in strata, but that old laws reflect times past when a typical apartment block was simply a two storey walk-up.
In an unprecedented move, the new model bylaws will cover smoke drift and allow pets by default.
The bylaws will also address issues of noisy timber and tiled floors before they are laid, as opposed to the current system where noisy floors can only be addressed after they become a problem.
Executive committee members in strata schemes will have to declare conflicts of interest and may be required to remove themselves from voting on issues if such conflicts emerge.
Strata managers, building managers, caretakers and agents will no longer be allowed to sit on executive committees
