Looks like the topic of managing public housing sub-leases in Strata is either proving too difficult or there’s a simply a lack of interest; us strayians do have short memories!
Perhaps this observation will ignite the debate.
I’ve noticed a proliferation of NGO’s whose names typically include words such as “neighbourhood” or “community” who, with funding by NSW Housing or by NSW Family & Community Services, are taking up Head Leases in Strata Properties in order to provide accommodation to their “clients”.
Perhaps the NSW Government’s recent tabling (to Parliament) of the Community Housing Providers Bill 2012 is an acknowledgement of the above proliferation, and of the need to at least know the extent of it.
Much of these accommodation acquisitions (their words) is short-term (8-12 weeks in the case of our Plan), and possibly because the organisations holding the Head Lease are not using their own funds to do so, they’re paying on average 40% above the market rental in our Plan.
Understandably, these lucrative short-term sub-lease arrangements are proving attractive to our Proprietors, whose Agents have as I understand it been made aware of the needs of our local neighbourhood and community associations.
A proliferation of these short-term sub-leases will undoubtedly undermine and hamper our E/C’s efforts to educate our residents about strata living, and in particular of their need to respect the amenity of others. In fact, in my absence our E/C Chair has recently assisted one tenant to settle-in, they’ve departed, and we this week received another individual who has never lived in a Strata Community and who, sadly, has apparently never before experienced a need to socialise, and quite frankly doesn’t want to because as she sees it, she’s in transit.
OK, I accept the social justice view that such individuals should be able to integrate (if that’s the accepted term) with the wider community, but surely there needs to be some transitional stage that doesn’t involve placing them in the middle of a Strata Community, where the learning process involved in such close-proximity living that has by necessity certain “rules” (By-laws) to which all must abide, is difficult enough for long-term residents! Wouldn’t a stand-alone property be more suitable as a transition?
So our AGM took the view that if it’s good enough for NSW Residential Tenancies Act to permit Proprietor/Landlords to “withhold consent to a transfer or sub-letting relating to the whole tenancy or residential premises whether or not it is reasonable to do so”, then it should be good enough for the O/C to Register a Special By-Law requiring Proprietors to give it 14 days written notice of any intention to sub-lease their Lot/s.
I acknowledge the limitations of Cl49 of the SCMA, but once our Special By-Law is Registered, the O/C will at least have a window of opportunity to explain to Proprietors the down-sides of sub-lease arrangements of the types that we’re now experiencing.
Ground-breaking; gees I hope so1