There is no such thing as 'the strata': understanding what strata title means for housing supply, affordability and liveability

Strata title governs high and low rise housing, along with mixed use development. Unlike traditional housing, legislation and private by-laws determine the ongoing costs of strata housing, as well as its use and livability. Strata title is the almost exclusive focus of governments seeking to solve the affordability crisis through supply, and as a result, it is imperative that planners, architects, landscapers, designers, local councils and state governments all account for the implications of strata title for owners, tenants, community housing providers and the wider community.
This paper will explore four key aspects of strata title. First it will consider how strata title imposes on-going costs on owners in ways that are prohibited in traditional, non-strata housing. While those costs are shared between owners, complex and extensive infrastructure, including sustainability infrastructure, creates significant costs which can be unaffordable, even when shared. Second, medium to large scale developments, actively incentivized by governments, cannot be managed by lay owners, creating the need for expensive and frequently exploitative professional services. Third, local councils increasingly enter planning agreements which superficially seem to impose infrastructure costs on developers, while, in reality, they impose costs on owners, and privatise traditionally public infrastructure and space. Fourth, in mixed use developments in NSW, Qld and Victoria, developers use stratum/volumetric subdivision, a little understood title designed to avoid the consumer protection provisions in strata title legislation. Owners will find themselves subject to extensive on-going costs for car share schemes, sustainability infrastructure, and public open space, but with no power to control or alter those costs.
While Australians frequently refer to ‘the strata’ as the entity that is responsible for costs and management of medium to high density housing, no such entity exists. Legislation imposes the responsibility for costs and management on owners who are often unwilling, unable and unaware of the burden their housing entails. All professionals and governments engaged in planning, designing and delivering medium to high density housing need to understand the strata title ‘burden’ and seek to minimize its impacts on owners and tenants. Insufficient consideration of strata title in policy and planning is deepening housing inequality, with a growing portion of Australians - typically younger, older and/or migrants - bearing substantial on-going housing costs that those in traditional, non-strata housing will never face.