Millions of people around the country live in strata developments. In Sydney alone there are currently over 40,000 strata schemes containing almost 600,000 individual lots.
Approximately 28% of Sydney residents currently live in strata schemes and this figure will grow to 45% over the next 25 years, if plans under Sydney’s Metropolitan strategy to build strata units for a further one million people (400-500,000 units) are realized. Similar developments are happening elsewhere, with metropolitan plans proposing to greatly increase the numbers of higher density dwellings in other Australian cities.
Despite this, relatively little research has been carried out on the strata sector, how it operates, and the types of problems faced by people living and working in strata schemes. The City Futures Research Centre at the University of New South Wales (NSW) is working to remedy this, with a number of projects focused on strata living currently underway. Their latest project, funded by the NSW Office of Fair Trading, focuses on major repairs and maintenance in residential strata in NSW. The project asks strata owners about their attitudes towards, and experiences of, the management of major repairs and maintenance in their buildings and will document how major repairs and maintenance data is collected and managed by executive committees and owners corporations.
A major component of this research is a survey of strata owners in NSW. The survey asks owners about their knowledge of, and satisfaction with, major repairs issues in their building. This includes questions on the arrangements in place to fund major repairs, attitudes towards the level of funds available and how these are charged, owners participation in management decisions, and satisfaction with strata managing agents’ and owners corporations’ treatment of major repairs and maintenance issues.
The findings will provide strata owners, owners corporations and strata managing agents with new and systematic information which will help inform decision making in strata buildings on provision for maintenance and repairs. It is also expected that the findings will influence bets practice, policy innovation and educational programs for practitioners and policy makers in the sector.
Source: BCS Plus Magazine Issue 8