New unit titles rules expected to benefit apartment buyers

The Government has said that apartment owners and buyers will soon have greater protections once further changes to the law on unit titles come into effect.

Changes to the Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Act will take effect on 9 May 2024, following earlier changes in December 2022 and May 2023.

These latest changes are designed to strengthen the long-term maintenance regime, clarify terms in the contract of service with a body corporate manager and introduce powers for the regulator.

Housing Minister Chris Bishop said these changes would help first home buyers get on the property ladder by giving them more confidence when buying an apartment.

“Kiwis will now get greater transparency and better governance through their bodies corporate,” he said. 

“These changes will ensure prospective buyers have legal rights to a far more comprehensive disclosure regime and to information about the building in which they buy an apartment or a unit title. These policy decisions have been made with careful consideration of the capacity and capability of bodies corporate, delivering the smallest impact on compliance costs as possible.”

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