The Property Council has applauded the Queensland Government’s decision to pass the Body Corporate and Community Management and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2023 which will enshrine a new strata termination threshold of 75 per cent for uneconomical community title schemes – a reform that has been championed by the Property Council for over a decade.
Property Council Queensland Deputy Executive Director Jess Caire explained that the reform will increase the supply of well-located housing and respond to concerns of residents in older apartment buildings that are increasingly costly to maintain.
“The Property Council have advocated for a reduction in Queensland’s unanimous strata termination threshold for over a decade and it is really the low hanging fruit in terms of responding to the housing crisis,” Ms Caire said.
“Other states have embarked on strata reform and Queensland has done so with safeguards and consumer protection provisions that go above and beyond what has been put in place in other jurisdictions.
“In Queensland and in particular areas like the Gold Coast there are countless older apartments that are beyond repair and are likely to become financial sinkholes for residents.
“This reform will help ensure that if the majority of residents chose to do so and the scheme is deemed economically unviable to maintain, that they are able to wrap up their scheme and unlock the capital from their unit.
“In the midst of a housing crisis it a commonsense change and the Queensland laws come with numerous safeguards to assuage the fears of those who believe they will be used to pressure people out of their homes.
“Instead, if the majority of unit owners wish to sell and an independent report is undertaken that deems the building uneconomical to maintain, they will no longer be locked into an older, unsafe and expensive building by a single solitary lot owner who does not want to sell.
“Moving forward, the Property Council hopes that the process for terminating a community title scheme is not costly or arduous for owners so additional safe and fit for purpose housing supply can be delivered as soon as possible to relieve pressure on our housing market,” Ms Caire said.
