A Property Lawyer’s View of Strata Title

Strata title is a form of real property so you’d think that it fits conventional notions of property law.  But it doesn’t. And, as strata title law continues to develop and get developed by the people using it, it diverges more and more from conventional property law.

But is this right?  Should it be more like property law?  Or should it be unique?

At the Griffith University 2011 Conference on strata and community title Cathy Sherry presented a paper on a few aspects of this vexed property law question. 

Called ‘A bigger strata footprint: are we aware of the implications?’ the paper argues that strata title divergences from orthodox property law have the potential to cause serious economic and social harm and identifies two of the ways in which strata and community title differ from orthodox property law.

First, strata and community title fragment titles, creating a quasi-feudal form of ownership where too many people have powers of veto over land and where acquisition of title automatically imposes a range of positive and negative obligations on owners.

Second, strata by-laws go beyond the ordinary principle of land regulation to prevent harm to others, controlling private, self- regarding acts.

It’s a well argued and compelling discussion of the issue that I recommend to anyone with a serious interest in the broader socio-political implications of strata title property.

Cathy Sherry is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at UNSW.

Francesco …