Time to get organised, apartment owners of Melbourne

The number of people living in owners’ corporations (OC) in metropolitan Melbourne are,t unsurprisingly, soaring to new heights. It is reported that nine out of 10 residents in the City of Melbourne local government area live in an OC.

We all know that developers only seem to be interested in building more and more apartment towers.

The government is, of course, supportive of more apartment towers being built, because of the stamp duty revenue it creates and because of the construction jobs and economic activity it generates in the community.

But what about after the building is completed, the lot owners have settled on their apartments and the residents have moved in?

This where the legislation has been lagging behind for many years, as successive policy planners in consumer affairs have struggled to keep pace with legislation and regulations that would best assist committees and lot owners to manage the repairs and maintenance of the building, and to ensure that lot owners and residents can live harmoniously with each other.

Now, we are poised to see the latest re-write of the Owners’ Corporation Act in the early New Year, as the government has committed to sweeping policy reforms to be enacted before the next state election in November 2026.

It is clear that these policy reforms will be extensive, and it appears as if the government may be taking the plight of OCs seriously, for the first time in a long time.

But much must still be done.

There is much need for advocacy and strong representation to the government, and strong educational services to lot owners and committee members.

It is now more important than ever for OCs to join the Owners’ Corporation Network (OCN) and contribute to the ongoing development of robust and sensible policy reform.

There are more than one million people living in strata in Melbourne. Those voices need to be collated, filtered, distilled and reflected back to Parliament to ensure that legislation and policy in this area continues to evolve.

The worst thing that could happen next year after the legislation is released, is for the government to think that their job is over, and they don’t have to do any further legislative amendments for another five to 10 years.

The collective voice of the OCN will ensure that the views of OCs are heard in the corridors of Parliament for many years to come. •