Strata Defect Bonds Legislation Commences

Amendments to the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and the Strata Schemes Management Regulation 2016 in relation to strata defect bonds commenced yesterday on 1 July 2020. Key changes include:

• Developers must lodge the building bond before an application is made for an occupation certificate. Previously, it was only lodged before the occupation certificate was issued
• Developers must give documents to the building inspector that help with their inspection.
• There is a means for the developer and owners to agree on the amount of the building bond to be released for repairs, if they can’t agree.
• Professional associations are now required to keep and maintain a public register containing details of members of their strata inspector panel.

Further information is available on the Fair Trading Website.