Law clarified for unit titles and bodies corporate

A bill clarifying and simplifying parts of the law around unit title owners and bodies corporate passed its third reading in Parliament today.

“The Unit Titles Amendment Bill makes a number of amendments to the Act that will benefit prospective buyers, unit owners and bodies corporate. While it affects about 100,000 people today, the growth of apartment living and other higher density housing and mixed housing developments means it is likely to cover half a million people within 50 years,” Dr Smith says.

“The Act strengthens the Tenancy Tribunal’s ability to make orders to address unit title disputes and enables it to recover unpaid levies for body corporates. These changes ensure swifter and more effective dispute resolution processes.

“The Act also reduces costs for prospective buyers accessing body corporate documents as part of the sale and purchase process. It will enable buyers to select only those documents they require rather than receiving a stack of standardised documents that just adds cost.”

The bill was previously part of the Statutes Amendment Bill but was separated out as a stand-alone bill on recommendation of the Government Administration Committee.

‘’As more and more people move to inner city apartment living, it’s important to ensure they have certainty about their rights and obligations,” Dr Smith says.