A strata and property services taskforce will enforce a suite of NSW reforms taking effect this year, the state government says.

The office, sitting within NSW Fair Trading, will be backed by an $8.4 million investment.

Fair Trading commissioner Natasha Mann says the taskforce improves oversight of real estate and strata managing agents by bringing together specialist staff across her agency.

“The number of strata schemes in NSW has grown from around 70,000 at the end of 2015 to more than 87,000 – creating a greater need for targeted, proactive regulation to ensure practitioners and businesses in the property industry are properly trained and supervised,” she said.

The government’s latest tranche of strata reforms, stemming from a previously scheduled legislative review, passed parliament last week.

The reforms help owners repair and maintain common property, support uptake of sustainability and accessibility infrastructure, and give owners more options to pay levies when facing financial stress. 

“Repairs to common property are the obligation of the owners’ corporation, and these reforms help to ensure the hard-earned money of individual owners invested in the property will prevent it from being run down, become a safety risk, or cause greater damage through neglect,” Fair Trading Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said.

Laws that require detailed breakdowns of insurance quotes including commissions and broker fees, plus greater transparency around service company links, were passed last year and took effect on February 3.