NSW Fair Trading Can Now Enforce Common Property Repairs
The section 106 duty has not changed. Who can act on it has.
NSW Fair Trading has new powers over common property maintenance
Owners corporations in New South Wales have always had a duty to properly maintain and repair common property under section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. What changed is who can act when they do not.
NSW Fair Trading now holds investigative and enforcement powers directed at that duty.
Why this matters more than it sounds
The old position was that an owner with a maintenance complaint had to pursue the owners corporation themselves, usually at NCAT. That is slow, it costs money, and plenty of owners gave up.
A regulator with investigative powers changes the calculation for a committee that has been deferring a known repair. Deferral is no longer a private matter between the committee and a frustrated owner.
What a committee should have
- A documented understanding of common property condition, so deferral is a decision rather than an oversight
- A record of what was reported, when, and what was done about it
- A maintenance plan that a regulator would recognise as a plan
The uncomfortable version is this. A committee that has never assessed its common property cannot demonstrate it was managing the duty. One that has an assessment and a schedule can show it was, even where work is staged over years for affordability.
Getting the documentation right
We prepare building condition reports, maintenance reports and capital works fund plans for schemes from the Queensland border to Port Macquarie. Call 07 5573 4011 or email info@seymourconsultants.com.au.
