Strata tenants
Being a strata tenant is similar to being an owner - in that you need to abide by the strata’s by-laws and are entitled to certain consumer protections.
- By-laws are the rules that guide how the strata is run and also the conduct of all the people who own, live in and visit the strata property.
- As a tenant, you will be informed if a termination proposal has been made on the scheme you are living in.
What you need to know
By-laws:
- Some of the by-laws which could affect you are set out in the Strata Titles Act 1985 and some might have been created specifically for your strata by the people owning all of the lots when the scheme was created.
- It’s important that you have a copy of your strata scheme by-laws so that you understand what’s expected of you and don’t accidentally breach one of them.
- Breaking a by-law can result in a sizeable fine.
Termination proposals:
- You will be notified if you are a tenant in a strata scheme that has received a termination proposal. This means that the owners of the lots in the scheme are going to vote between two and six months on whether or not to sell.
- If the termination is referred to the State Administrative Tribunal (SAT) because there wasn’t 100% agreement on the termination, then you will be kept informed of this.
- If SAT rules that the termination may go ahead it might also rule that you, as a tenant, be paid an extra amount for ending your tenancy early.
- If the termination is agreed to, then your residential tenancy might be cancelled under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987. If so, you must be given a reasonable time to move out.
When will these changes happen
The changes to strata law and regulations affect your role as a strata tenant.
See what’s changed and support and resources for further information.