Apartment reform is now a realistic opportunity

The New Zealand National Party

It was great to see the Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill pulled from the member’s bill ballot today, National’s MP for Papakura Judith Collins and Auckland Central MP Nikki Kaye both say.

“This bill provides huge opportunity to strengthen the existing unit titles regime in areas such as pre-contract disclosure, record keeping of body corporates and better management of conflicts of interests and proxy votes”, Ms Collins says.

“It is no secret that there are concerns around lack of transparency, and this Bill will change the inadequacy in long term maintenance plans, and provide a clearer understanding of the role of a body corporate manager.

The law distinguishes between unit title complexes based on their size so smaller complexes can either be excluded or can opt-out of some compliance obligations. The legislation aims to strike a balance between the benefits of additional compliance requirements with any potential costs.”

“This is a great day for apartment owners and potential buyers as law reform is one step closer. As the MP for Auckland Central I have a huge number of apartments in my electorate, it’s crucial in areas like long-term maintenance plans that we get greater transparency and planning,” Ms Kaye says.

“It is also important for new buyers that they know as much as possible about what they are buying into.

“National is committed to reduce homeowner disputes in multi-unit dwellings and help support easier resolutions. This bill will work to minimise issues of this calibre for homeowners all over New Zealand.”

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