Question: Would any clauses in our current by-laws conflict with the new NSW strata legislation? Should our owners corporation consider reviewing or updating our by-laws and policies?
Answer: There is significant benefit in owners corporations reviewing their by-laws and policies to ensure they are consistent with and/or take full advantage of these amendments.
There are by-laws which could be rendered inoperative by the amendment. It is hard to say in isolation which by-laws, but two examples which would be rendered inoperable are:
- by-laws that prevent the installation of sustainability infrastructure solely for the purpose of preserving the external appearance of a lot or the common property. The changes, with the new Section 139B expressly render such by-laws inoperative.
- by-laws requiring a lot owner to pay the recovery legal costs without a Tribunal or Court order will be rendered inoperative once Section 86(2AA) comes into force.
The recent changes are quite extensive and follow from the 2021 statutory review of the SSMA. These changes are intended to be far reaching. There is thus significant benefit in owners corporations reviewing their by-laws and policies to ensure they are consistent with and/or taking full advantage of these amendments.
This post appears in the June 2025 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Matthew Lo
Kerin Benson Lawyers
E: enquiries@kerinbensonlawyers.com.au
P: 02 8706 7060
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