Urban Renewal
In order to obtain development consent conditions from a development application the Local Council needs the consent of the owner of the land.
If an owners application involves the common property the owners corporation’s consent to the lodgement of that development application is required to enable development consent conditions to issue.
It is not uncommon for co-owners to have disputes over property. When these disputes occur, a co-owner may apply to the Supreme Court for the property to be held on the statutory trust for sale or partition. Part 4, Division 6 of the Conveyancing Act 1919 (the “Act”) outlines the relevant provisions for this application. The Court usually makes this order unless special circumstances exist. This article focuses on the statutory trust for sale.
There are numerous ways to terminate a strata scheme such as approaching the Registrar-General or forcing a sale pursuant to the strata renewal process, but how do you achieve this if the required consent is not provided by all relevant parties?
The Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 and the Strata Schemes Development Regulation 2016 commenced on 30 November 2016. One of the most important reforms effected by the act is the urban renewal mechanism contained in Part 10, which may permit the collective sale or redevelopment of strata schemes, without unanimous agreement of lot owners being required.
One of the most important reforms effected by the act is the urban renewal mechanism contained in Part 10, which may permit collective sale redevelopment of strata schemes, without unanimous agreement of lot owners being required. We are already encountering developers and lot owners pushing forward with proposals, with a view to moving quickly when the act comes into force.
‘Collective Sale’ has been a property buzzword in 2016 – state and local government zoning changes, together with the changes that the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 now bring, make collective sales a hot topic right now.
Strong pressure on Sydney property prices and an acute shortage of suitable development sites has made it possible for neighbours acting together to achieve excellent prices for properties which in aggregate represent a suitable development site. This is illustrated by the recent sale of nine St Leonards houses, which were sold for more than $66 million to a Hong Kong based investor.
Each lot owners’ consent is required for any DA relating to the ‘whole’ strata scheme
Under the new Part 10 strata renewal provisions in the Strata Schemes Development Act 2015 (SSDA 2015) there is no special power given to an owners corporation to lodge a development application over all lots.
Property owners, including owners corporations and their strata managing agents, have been receiving letters from Transport for NSW (“TfNSW”) in relation to the Sydney Metro rail project.
Amendments to the Land Acquisition (Just Terms Compensation) Act 1991 (“Act”), which commenced on 1 March 2017, give owners some significant new rights.
