5 MARCH 2019
A dedicated strata commissioner to protect apartment owners and residents against Opal Tower-style building defects will be introduced by Labor should it win office at this month’s state election. The opposition’s better regulation spokeswoman Yasmin Catley confirmed to Domain that Labor plans to create an office to oversee all strata issues, but with particular focus on defects in newly constructed buildings. “A commissioner solely focused on strata is long overdue,” said OCN chair Phil Gall. “Fair Trading is overloaded with concerns that have absolutely nothing to do with housing, home ownership or community. “Far too many stories cross our desks of people being misled and misinformed about their rights, then channelled into a dispute system that is all about compromise, rather than right or wrong. You just have to look at how the short-term letting, cladding and defects issues have been handled to realise a strong strata-focused voice in the system can only be an improvement.”
> Read the full article at Domain.com.au
Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams