The legal fundamentals of high rise buildings and master planned estates: ownership, governance and living in multi-owned housing with a case study on children's play

High rise and master planned housing are increasingly common in Australia. While these forms of housing are at opposite ends of the physical spectrum, their legal form can be the same. If created under legislation, a purchaser will acquire an individual lot, simultaneously becoming a collective owner of common property, a member of a governing body corporate and subject to private by-laws. Almost all high rise buildings utilise legislation, while only a proportion of master planned communities do. This article sets out the fundamental legal principles of ownership and governance in legislatively-created communities and highlights the impact that they can have on residents, in particular families and children.