2-lot strata: the new rules, explained for you and your neighbour

If you own half a duplex, or one of 2 separate houses on a strata plan, you own a lot in a strata scheme — and for years that has meant the same rulebook as a high-rise. The 2026 reforms finally recognise that two owners sharing a block don't need a committee, a chairperson and an annual meeting. Here's what's changing, what isn't, and what the two of you should do about it.

First, what a "two-lot scheme" actually is

When two homes on one block — a duplex or 2 separate houses — are built and sold as two titles, the developer registers a strata plan. Each home is a "lot"; in an attached duplex the land, the roof, the slab and the shared walls are usually "common property" owned by the owners corporation — which is just the two of you, acting together. The strata plan number (SP followed by digits) is on your rates notice and your insurance certificate.

What changes

A new category: the small strata scheme (s 7A). 2-lots, no strata committee. Once the section commences, such a scheme:

• holds no annual general meeting and elects no office-bearers;
• makes every decision by a written resolution signed by both owners;
• keeps those signed resolutions as its record of decisions.

No more annual Strata Hub report from 1 October 2026 — the online return and its fee no longer apply to 2-lot schemes.

Simpler in practice. No agendas, no notice periods, no quorum. If you both agree on something, you write it down, both sign, and it's done.

What does not change

• Insurance. The building must be insured in the owners corporation's name for full replacement value, with at least $20 million public liability. This is the single most common failure in self-managed 2-lot schemes.
• Repairs. The owners corporation must maintain and repair common property — the roof, the shared wall, the slab, often the external walls (s 106).
• Money. Contributions are determined by the owners corporation and split by unit entitlement (ss 79, 81, 83(2)). Most 2-lot schemes are 50/50, but check your plan.
• Records. A strata roll, the by-laws, insurance details and the record of decisions must be kept (ss 177–180) and made available on request (ss 182–183).
• Selling. A Section 184 certificate must be provided within 14 days when requested — a buyer's conveyancer will insist on it.

The key dates

A checklist for both owners

1. Find your strata plan number and the registered plan (your conveyancer from purchase will have it, or it can be ordered from NSW Land Registry).
2. Check the building insurance certificate: whose name, what sum insured, is there $20m liability, when does it expire?
3. Agree in writing how you split costs and whether you keep a capital works fund.
4. Write down every shared decision and both sign it. Keep the file somewhere both of you can reach.
5. Decide whether you want someone to keep this straight for you — that's what Duplex Strata does, for $395 + GST a year, without ever holding your money.

Where the two of you disagree

The new model only works when both owners sign. If you can't agree, there's no committee to break the tie — the options are NSW Fair Trading's free strata mediation, or an application to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal for an order. We don't take sides — for anything contested, speak to a solicitor. Knowing that in advance is a good reason to get the routine decisions written down while you're on good terms.