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Great call on this Jimmy (yet again)!
The policy oversight and regulation the fastest growing segment of residential housing deserves better than it has been getting. And having it lost in the labyrinth of other unrelated matters in Fair Trading can’t be helping.
As is so often revealed on Flat Chat, strata living has its own unique set of issues that are poorly understood by too many people. It needs specialist and authoritative attention within Government. It must succeed as a legitimate alternative form of housing for the well being of the entire growing population.
Fair Trading is supposed to be about consumer protection. On this score having oversight being provided by Fair Trading and the Minister for a Better Regulation has seriously failed apartment owners. Will still have apartment buyers getting defective and unsafe buildings, the peaceful and secure living of residents invaded by unwelcome holiday makers, and expensive time consuming mechanisms for resolving issues of non compliance with the Strata Schemes Management Act – a nightmare for Strata Committee volunteers and lot owners alike.
It beggars belief that a Government could possibly contemplate not allowing residential strata schemes to ‘self-determine’ whether or not they want their homes converted to a holiday unit complex.
How could they think some form of centralised regulation could ever work well across the thousands of strata schemes each differing in size, location, age, amenities and so on? The strata legislation recognises the need for each scheme to self regulate almost every aspect of strata living because each scheme is unique. However, for some reason (and Jimmy has suggested one) this principle is abandoned in this instance.
And how is Government going to ensure that any centralised scheme is going to be enforced? Who is going to ‘count the days’ each apartment is let for holiday purposes apart from AirBnB etc to ensure that the Victorian style law is going to be complied with? The self regulation model of strata already provides a mechanism to establish and enforce by-laws (albeit imperfect) with the incentives to regulate with the people directly affected.
Pity help the poor residents who thought they were buying a residential apartment as their home only to find strangers stalking their once secure corridors and ‘taking over’ the facilities such as the courtyard pool that they pay for with their strata levies.
Unless there is a turnaround this one will fester undermining the already questionable option of strata living for many. And there are many people across the state living in strata now, all of whom vote.