What changed for two-lot strata schemes
The law finally caught up with duplexes. About one in three NSW strata schemes is just two lots, and until now they carried the same rulebook as a fifty-unit tower.
- 1 October 2026: two-lot schemes stop lodging the annual Strata Hub report (NSW Fair Trading, "Changes to strata laws").
- Small strata scheme rules (no meetings, decisions by written resolution of both owners, new s 7A): in a Bill that has passed the Legislative Assembly and is before the Legislative Council. They start on a date to be proclaimed. Until then, where the law still requires a meeting we hold a short online one for you at no extra cost.
- Unchanged: the duty to insure the building for full replacement value in the owners corporation's name, to keep common property in repair, to keep a strata roll and records, and to provide a Section 184 certificate when a lot is sold.
The three changes that matter
1. No meetings. Under the new s 7A, a scheme with two lots and no strata committee becomes a "small strata scheme". It does not have to hold an annual general meeting, does not need a committee, and does not elect office-bearers. The two owners are the owners corporation.
2. Decisions are made in writing, by both owners. Anything the owners corporation needs to decide — the budget, the insurance, appointing a manager, fixing the roof — is done by a written resolution that both owners sign. That is the whole governance model. It can be signed on paper or electronically (s 7A(4)–(6); the record is kept under s 180(1)(b1)).
3. No annual Strata Hub report from 1 October 2026. Two-lot schemes are exempt from the yearly online return and its fee (NSW Fair Trading, "Changes to strata laws", updated 25-08-2026).
What did not change
The reforms remove the meeting machinery, not the obligations. A two-lot owners corporation must still:
- insure the building for its full replacement value, in the owners corporation's name, with at least $20 million public liability (ss 160–164; Regulation cl 39);
- keep the common property in good repair (s 106);
- determine an annual budget and levy contributions, split by unit entitlement (ss 79, 81, 83(2));
- keep a strata roll and the prescribed records (ss 177–180), and make them available on request (ss 182–183);
- give a Section 184 certificate within 14 days when a lot is sold and one is requested.
Miss those and the consequences are the same as for any scheme: an uninsured loss falls on both owners, a buyer's conveyancer refuses to settle without the certificate, and a Fair Trading complaint can follow.
What this means in practice
Most duplexes we meet have never held a meeting anyway. What they usually lack is the paperwork: a policy in the right name for the right amount, a written record that both owners agreed to it, a strata roll, and someone who can produce a Section 184 certificate in a week when one owner sells.
That is the gap Duplex Strata fills, for a flat $395 + GST a year for the whole scheme — no money handled, no meetings, both owners approving every decision online. The pricing page lists exactly what is included and what is not.
Where to read the primary sources
- NSW Fair Trading — "Changes to strata laws" (the government's own summary of the reform timetable).
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — Part 1 (new s 7A once commenced), Part 9 (insurance), Part 10 (records), s 184.
- The Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment Bill as passed by the Legislative Assembly — the small-scheme provisions.
We link to the legislation rather than paraphrase it in the fine print, and we update the status box at the top of this page whenever the position changes.
No meetings, no commissions, no money handled. Both owners sign online.