Transitional period over for unit titles

The transitional period for bodies corporate ended on October 1.

There are more than 18,000 unit title developments in New Zealand. Most of them are residential.

As of the start of this month, every body corporate had to have prepared a long-term maintenance plan, must have established a long-term maintenance fund, unless it passed a special resolution not to and must understand its new obligations, such as maintaining common areas and any part of the property that serves more than one unit.

It should have reviewed and changed its operational rules, otherwise default rules will apply.

A Department of Building and Housing spokeswoman said it was not known how many bodies corporate had fulfilled their obligations. “They are responsible for doing it. We’ve been empowering owners to self-regulate and providing resources to help them do that.”

She said it would be when other legal issues arose or apartment and unit owners tried to sell their properties that bodies not complying with the regulations would be found out.