Over the past few years there has been a huge push for people to buy EV vehicles of all kinds putting significant strain on strata buildings.

The increased number of electric vehicles now in strata blocks comes with a high risk of fire as residents charge their lithium-ion batteries throughout their buildings in their apartments, parking spaces, garages and other areas.

As people look for cheaper and quicker modes of transport e-bikes and e-scooters have become all the rage.

E-bikes and e-scooters have lithium-ion batteries and have sparked a series of fires in strata apartment buildings and based on statistics* pose a major threat as they continue to increase in popularity with a 16% increase in fire related incidences in 2023 and a 94% increase on the previous year.

The risk of e-bikes and e-scooters in strata blocks include:

1. Fire Hazards
2. Improper Charging Practices
3. Storage Challenges
4. Liability Concerns
5. Electricity Costs

How do strata schemes proactively manage the EV situation to reduce the risk of fire and other concerns?

By implementing a comprehensive by-law, covering the areas below, strata schemes can proactively manage e-bike and e-scooter hazards in strata.

1. Proper Charging Guidelines
2. Storage Solutions/Options
3. Registering E-vehicles with Regular Inspections
4. Resident Education Initiatives

Banning e-bikes and e-scooters would be extremely difficult and is unlikely to be enforceable given a lot of owners rely on this mode of transport for work.

An effective by-law will minimise the risk of e-bike and e-scooter fires and enhance the safety of residents and property within the community ensuring proper processes are in place to manage and reduce the risk.

* October 2023 ACCC Lithium-ion batteries and consumer product safety

CLICK HERE FOR AN E-BIKE / E-SCOOTER BY-LAW

Adrian Mueller I BCOM LLB FACCAL I Partner

Since 2002 Adrian has specialised almost exclusively in the area of strata law. His knowledge of, and experience in strata law is second to none. He is the youngest person to have been admitted as a Fellow of the ACSL, the peak body for strata lawyers in Australia. Profile I Linked

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For all strata law advice including by-laws, building defects and levy collections contact our specialist NSW and Sydney strata lawyers here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist. 

Under a plan by the City of Sydney  all new apartment blocks will need to provide EV chargers and existing apartment blocks will need to retrofit EV chargers as the Council pushes to drive the uptake of EV’s and drive net zero emissions by 2035.

Retro Fitting EV Chargers

Many older apartment blocks are struggling with the concept of installing EV chargers, a major hurdle for the following reasons:

• The significant costs
• Navigating the current building infrastructure
• Questions about who pays for the new infrastructure?
• Uncertainty over who pays for the electricity used?
• Questions about how the EV owner is charged for electricity used and whether a by-law can introduce a user pays system for electricity costs
• Lack of information about EV charger installation
• Convincing lot owners who don’t own an EV (and may never) to contribute to the cost of installing EV charging infrastructure

The NSW Government’s promise in the upcoming elections to install 30,000 public charging stations across NSW is a positive move in the right direction.

However, in Europe more than 80% and in North America 70% of EV vehicles are charged in homes overnight.

So, perhaps the Government needs to further develop ways to assist with the uptake of retrofitting EV chargers in existing apartment blocks to ensure the City of Sydney (and other areas) reach their target of zero emissions by 2035.

In that regard, the NSW Treasurer recently announced that if the NSW Government is re-elected at the upcoming election, changes will be made to strata laws in NSW to make it easier to install EV Chargers in apartment buildings. The jury is still out on that announcement but it would be a step in the right direction.

For more information refer to these media articles:

• This is evolving quickly City of Sydney accelerates switch to electric vehicles.pdf
• Sydney council pledges to plug in to electric car trend
• 30,000 EV chargers across NSW by 2026

Do You Need an Electric Vehicle (EV) By-law?

Our specialist team of strata lawyers has drafted many by-laws permitting owners to install electric vehicle chargers in strata buildings. Our EV by-law considers and covers all essentials including these key issues:

• Who’s responsible for paying the cost of electricity used to charge electric vehicles
• Any necessary upgrades to the electricity infrastructure in the building
• Overloading the existing electrical infrastructure

DO YOU NEED ASSISTANCE WITH AN ELECTRIC VEHICLE BY-LAW?

The Strata Schemes Management Amendment (Sustainability Infrastructure) Bill 2021 is expected to commence in mid-2021.

Overview of New Laws

The key features of the Bill are as follows:

1. An owners corporation will be able to authorise the installation of sustainability infrastructure (such as solar panels) on common property by passing an ordinary resolution.

2. Any decision by an owners corporation that would unreasonably prohibit the keeping of an animal on a lot will have no force or effect.

3. It will be possible for a by-law to prohibit the keeping of an animal (such as a dangerous dog) on a lot if that prohibition is reasonable.

4. An owners corporation will need to keep voting records regarding a secret ballot confidential unless directed to make those records available for inspection by a court or NCAT.

5. NCAT will need to provide a copy of any strata application that is lodged by any person to the owners corporation of the strata scheme concerned.

6. An owners corporation will need to serve a copy of any NCAT application it receives on each owner instead of just placing a copy of the application on the noticeboard.

7. NCAT will have the power to require a person to pay a penalty of up to $5,500.00 for breaching an order made by NCAT.

8. A person who owns more than one lot in a strata scheme will be able to appoint a single proxy in respect of all of the lots (to prevent the limitation on the number of proxies a person can hold stopping this from occurring).

9. A proxy appointment form for a meeting will still be valid even if the meeting is adjourned to a later date.

Conclusion

These new laws will make it easier for owners corporations and owners to install solar panels and implement other “green” initiatives, clarify the validity of “no pets” by-laws and close a loop hole in the strata legislation that prevented NCAT imposing penalties on people who breach orders.

For all NSW strata legal including by-laws, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Hot off the press!

Warwick van Ede, a NSW Law Society Accredited Specialist in property law, and senior lawyer at JS Mueller & Co Lawyers, has been appointed a member of the Property Law Committee of the Law Society of NSW for 2021 due to his expertise in property and strata law.

An experienced lawyer of almost 30 years, Warwick specialises in litigation, property and strata law, with a focus on NSW.

Warwick has appeared, often as advocate, in all Courts and Tribunals across NSW representing clients at NCAT, the Supreme Court, and Federal Court of Australia and in lower Courts.

JS Mueller & Co Lawyers are proud of Warwick’s achievement and are confident Warwick will be an excellent committee member providing sound policy input and advice using his specialist knowledge and experience in the area of property and strata law.  Warwick’s appointment also recognises the expertise held by the team at JS Mueller & Co in property and strata law.

By drawing on the insights of expert committee members such as Warwick, the Law Society is able to act as a major player in law reform and policy debates including in relation to strata law. We look forward to Warwick making a valuable contribution to law reform in the strata space.

To view Warwick’s full profile click here.

For all NSW strata legal including by-laws, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

New building defects laws which commenced in June 2020 received considerable media attention.

Those laws are contained in the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 and impose on builders and others involved in the construction of apartment buildings a statutory duty of care to avoid loss caused by defects.

The new laws give owners corporations greater powers to make defects claims against builders and others.

However, a recent case which dealt with another statutory duty of care highlights some of the issues that will confront an owners corporation which makes a defects claim under the new laws.

In this article we take a look at that case and explain what relevance it has to defects claims that will be brought by owners corporations under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020.

The full case can be read here Building Defects Claim Duty of Care

For all NSW strata legal including by-law, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

NCAT’s Appeal Panel has decided that strata records are not protected by privacy laws and that an owner is entitled to inspect strata records that relate to other owners.

Here we share the following case confirming that a strata manager or owners corporation cannot refuse to make available for the inspection of an owner records which the owner is entitled to inspect under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 on the grounds of privacy and that those records are not protected by privacy laws.

Read the full case here: Strata Records not Protected by Privacy By-laws

For all NSW strata legal, by-law, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

In a recent decision, the Appeal Panel of NCAT has approved of a by-law which introduced a “user pays” system for the cost of electricity used to keep hot water supplied to some but not all lots in a mixed-use strata scheme.

This decision confirms that an owners corporation is able to make a by-law that introduces a “user pays” system for utilities costs such as water, electricity and gas expenses.

Based in Byron Bay this case is an important step in confirming that an owners corporation is able to introduce a “user pays” by-law for the cost of utilities that are supplied to some but not all lots.

JS Mueller & Co Lawyers has drafted many of these types of by-laws which are not uncommon.

To read the full article click here: NCAT Gives the Green Light for User Pays By-laws

For all NSW strata legal, by-law, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

On 10 June 2020, the New South Wales Government made new laws regulating the construction of apartment buildings.

Those new building defect laws commenced on 1 September 2020 and will have a significant impact on all owners corporations and the strata industry.

In this paper we discuss the new laws and how they will impact the strata industry including:

• Occupation Certificates
• Stop Work Orders
• Rectification Orders
• Delegation of Powers
• Retrospectivity

Read the full paper here: New Laws that will have a significant impact on the Strata Industry.

For all NSW strata legal, by-law, building defect and levy collection advice contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

New ‘duty of care’ laws makes all participants in building work responsible for fixing building defects!

Passed by the NSW Parliament in early June 2020, the new building laws will have a significant impact on people that own and live in strata buildings and any person involved in property development and construction in NSW.

The new laws apply to both existing buildings built in the last ten years and also to the construction of new buildings going forward.

Those laws will give many owners corporations rights they did not previously have.

Here we explain the Building Defects New Duty of Care Laws and what actions strata managers can take now!

For NSW strata legal, building defects and levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.

Recent articles published in the press about misinformation of COVID-19 strata laws have stated that short term accommodation arrangements through Airbnb have been banned.

There has also been conflicting information published about whether COVID-19 lockdown laws require an owners corporation to close its recreational facilities such as a swimming pool and gym.

In this short article we answer your questions about those issues and clarify the uncertainty surrounding the Misinformation about COVID19 Strata Laws – Clarified.

For NSW strata legal, building defect or levy collection advice please contact us here or call 02 9562 1266, we’re happy to assist.