Approximately 17% of NSW residents live in properties governed by strata laws and regulations with the NSW Government forecasting this to surge to 50% in Greater Sydney alone by the year 2040. As of November 2022, there were 89,049 strata schemes formally registered comprising a staggering 1,043,690 individual lots or units. This is changing and complicating the landscape of housing tenure in NSW especially as the NSW Government is promoting high-density living.  

This week’s 4 Corners ABC News story about the ‘Strata Trap’ has given extra urgency to the calls for reform of the various state and territory laws and regulations regarding strata schemes.  

As a reminder, Shelter NSW recently released a discussion paper on this topic, examining the impacts of strata on housing affordability and accessibility in NSW. Given our remit, the paper has a specific focus on understanding the experience of, and factors contributing to strata-induced housing precarity, especially for low-income people.  

Issues covered in the paper include the challenge of hidden fees and unanticipated levies; instances of strata companies engaging in exploitative practices and the ramifications of declining building quality. We were pleased to see strata-reform advocates (and legal experts) like Professor Cathy Sherry and Amanda Farmer commending us for the paper in recent LinkedIn posts following the 4Corners program.