The Unit Titles Act 2001 (the Act) governs arrangements under which land in the A.C.T. can be subdivided into units with common property. 'Unit title' is usually known as 'strata title' in other jurisdictions. Commonly, unit title property in the A.C.T. is referred to as flats, units, apartments or townhouses. Some office buildings and commercial properties are also unit title properties.
The Act sets out the rules for establishing a units plan and the rights, liabilities and obligations of owners, tenants, the owners corporation and its executive committee and the owners corporation manager.
The Unit Titles Amendment Act 2008 made a series of changes to the Unit Titles Act 2001 and the Agents Act 2003. The changes include providing for regulation of owners corporation managers (sometimes referred to as body corporate managers).
On 20 October 2011 the A.C.T. Legislative Assembly passed the Unit Titles (Management) Bill 2011 (the Bill). When this commences, it will relocate the unit titles management legislation to a separate statute, the Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011, and will reorganise the laws to make them more user-friendly. This will particularly assist owners, managers and others involved in managing units plans to understand their roles in the day-to-day activities of managing a units plan.
In addition to the reorganising of the laws, the Bill includes a number of new provisions that:
For further information on unit titles refer to Unit Titles page on the Justice and Community Safety Directorate website.
