Should renters have a say in the management of residential strata buildings?

Jonathan ChancellorDecember 7, 2020

The NSW Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts says strata schemes work best when owners and residents take an active interest in how the scheme is run. Getting people to volunteer their time to serve on committees or attend meetings is an ongoing challenge for many schemes, particularly where the majority of residents are tenants.

Just over half of all residential strata lots in New South Wales are investor owned with many of these investor-owners living inter-state or overseas, making it difficult for them to attend meetings or to take an active interest in the concerns of the residents.

The act currently sets an upper limit of nine for the number of people who can be appointed to the committee. While owners may find that having a small committee helps to ensure the efficient management of the scheme, the government maintains there is no clear reason why an upper limit needs to be provided for in the law. There are many different types of strata scheme and owners corporations should be able to appoint as many committee members as is necessary to effectively administer the scheme and to provide suitable representation.

Noting in some schemes tenants make up the majority of residents, the government will be seeking to recognise tenants for their role in strata communities as many are willing and able to contribute in a positive way to the running of the scheme.

Despite this, tenants currently have no rights to attend meetings or contribute to decisions that affect them.

It is proposed that the law give tenants the right to attend and participate in meetings of the owners corporation. It is also proposed that tenants be allowed to appoint a non-voting representative to the committee in circumstances where tenants occupy more than half the lots in a strata scheme. Consistent with community feedback on the discussion paper, tenants will not be given new voting rights.

HE SAYS – NO, NOT YET jc-silhouette-5

The voicing of tenants’ opinions by formal representation at body corporate meetings isn't really vital.

Let's face it many body corporates are already dysfunctional – hence, the reason for the NSW governments’ long overdue overhaul of strata title.

Renting an apartment for only six or 12 months is not unusual for tenants who could cause more grief than harmony for their neighbours if they are encouraged to have a say/play in the running of a building.

Imagine these tenants demanding the right for barbecues (even the ultimate portable barbecue, Ziegler & Brown Twin Grill) on miniscule balconies in buildings with hundreds of apartments. Don’t tell me they won't demand to formalise the practice of hanging laundry items on portable racks on balconies in between their smokey barbeques.

Given the transient nature of many tenants, these could be distracting issues raised on a regular basis at strata meetings.

Certainly if we had the ideal European model of lengthy tenancies, often almost life-long, then it would be a different matter.

 

mb-silhouette-4SHE SAYS – YES

I’m all for democracy - everyone has the right to be heard. Indeed our reformist Fair Trading minister Anthony Roberts often refers to strata schemes as the fourth tier of government.

A proposed change to strata laws suggests tenants have a voice, but they won’t be allowed to vote on issues of building management. Tenants will be permitted to speak, but owners of strata title property will still hold all the cards due to their voting rights.

Let’s not forget that when Australia’s first parliamentary elections for the Legislative Council were held in 1843, the right to vote included men with freehold property valued at £200 – but also was granted to any householder who paid rent of £20 per year. So since colonial days most tenants have had a right to participate.

If tenants are allowed to air their grievances, or suggest positive ways to solve a problem, it could resolve neighbourly conflicts and encourage more harmonious day-to-day interaction with residents of a strata building.

Call me Pollyanna, always optimistic and trying to look on the bright side, but I am in agreement with Anthony Roberts on this one. 

In his speech on November 2, Roberts said “these reforms aim to build a culture of community and co-operation by encouraging participation and inclusion…and improve the everyday things that people in strata schemes care about."

jchancellor(AT)propertyobserver(DOT)com.au

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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