For many individuals or businesses in the Cayman Islands, the choice of property location or property investment is a strata or condominium-style property. Strata development is so popular that there are more than 500 registered strata corporations in the Cayman Islands, ranging from four to close to 100 units within each of these strata corporations.
With strata ownership comes an array of challenges, made even more complicated due to outdated legislation or strata by-laws. To address current strata issues in the Cayman Islands, Appleby, BCQS, Butterfield Bank (Cayman) Limited and Island Heritage Insurance Co Ltd are hosting a one-day conference on 19 April for all those involved with strata, stated a press release.
There are many reasons for purchasing a unit in a strata complex, which include shared costs of amenities such as gardens, grounds and pools, reduction or elimination of maintenance chores, suitability to part-time residents or simply affordability when compared with single residence properties.
Maximizing the potential benefits of strata ownership requires strata owners, managers, lenders and insurers to have a working understanding of the laws, regulations and by-laws that impact on strata matters.
Most strata owners and executive committee members are not experts in strata law and regulations, and sometimes face challenging tasks and decisions that require consideration of legal or commercial issues that effect not only strata owners, but other economic interests such as insurers or banks as well.
An ineffectively run strata corporation, at the very least, results in aggravation for all owners and parties involved, and at the most, may result in a significant loss of property value or marketability.
A properly run strata requires that the executive committees or property managers develop at least a general (and sometimes specific) understanding of the four legal pillars of a strata. These include ‘The Strata Titles Registration Law’, ‘The Regulations’, ‘The Strata By-Laws’, and ‘The Registered Strata Plan’.
Changes to the law
Our Strata Titles Registration Law, in its earliest form, was first enacted in 1973 and was based on New South Wales strata legislation created in the early 1960s. Some changes have been made to our legislation since its first enactment, but the changes have been modest and minor when compared to the evolution of strata or condominium legislation in other jurisdictions.
In addition, the individual strata by-laws are often very old. Some strata by-laws date back decades and vary considerably in quality and clarity, the release noted.
STRATA.gize is a conference intended to assist strata executive committees, managers and other decision makers with interests in the effective management of stratas.
The conference sponsors have recognized a need to address the various key elements in operating strata corporations within a single forum. Key presentations throughout the day will include building better by-laws and running better meetings; ownership and maintenance: individual vs. common property; and property management, including general management, strata by-laws (rights, remedies & enforcement) and rental pool and strata corporation.
The conference will also include presentations on project management: catastrophic loss reinstatement, lessons from Australia: moving Cayman into modernity, residential strata: the mortgage lender’s perspective, insurance aspects of Cayman stratas, and strata development and conveyancing.
The STRATA.gize conference will also introduce ideas to modernize the Cayman Islands laws relevant to strata corporations. A leader and expert in strata law and development in Australia, Michael Allen, will speak on the New South Wales experience of strata law reform with a view forward to possible reform in Cayman.
As Cayman legislation derives from New South Wales, the lessons from that jurisdiction in law reform will be invaluable, the release said.
FYI
The conference runs Thursday, 19 April from 8.30am to 5pm at the Grand Cayman Marriott Beach Resort. All attendees are invited to a cocktail reception following the conference from 5 – 7pm. The cost of attendance is US$150 per person for tickets purchased on or before 11 April, and US$180 thereafter. This includes entrance to all sessions, conference notes, attendance at the cocktail reception, as well as breakfast, lunch and refreshments. For a registration form and full agenda, please email Sophie Roe at [email protected], or call 814 2089.
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