The Owners Corporation Network of Australia,which represents the owners and residents of strata properties such as apartment blocks,townhouses and villas,will be launching its model bylaw later this month. The organisation’s chair,Fred Tuckwell,said the data showed electric vehicles were safe but e-bikes and e-scooters were a “massive,massive risk”,especially if they were poor quality,had incompatible battery chargers,or had been tampered with to “soup up” the device.
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The model bylaw,which individual owners’ corporations can choose to adopt or amend,states e-bikes and e-scooters should adhere to Australian standards and be well maintained,and requires owners to monitor the devices during charging and place them in a location such as a balcony that does not block the path to a fire exit.
Tuckwell concedes that enforcement was difficult,but believes the bylaw would help educate residents about the risks.
He knew a growing number of owners’ corporations were discussing bans,but he did not believe that was the right approach. Legal experts had told him that a blanket ban probably would be found invalid if a resident challenged it in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal because bylaws can’t be “harsh,oppressive or unconscionable”.
Tuckwell added that e-bikes should be encouraged because of the sustainability benefits.
“You can’t say ‘here is an important way of getting around cheaply and economically with no emissions’ and then ban the things,” Tuckwell said.
New builds must have charging infrastructure for electric vehicles,and might also have a charging area for e-bikes,sometimes in a fireproof room in the basement. But Tuckwell said three out of four current strata schemes in NSW were old-style walk-up blocks with up to 10 flats.
Who’s who in strata
- A strata scheme is typically a building or group of buildings that has been divided into “lots” such as an apartment,townhouse or villa. Lot owners share ownership and overall legal responsibility for the whole property.
- All the owners in a strata scheme automatically belong to the owners’ corporation (previously called the body corporate).
- The strata committee (previously called an executive committee) is elected by the owners’ corporation to help it make decisions for the scheme.
- A strata manager or strata managing agent is a professional appointed to assist running of the strata scheme.
- NSW Fair Trading has a mediation service,and the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal has the power to adjudicate.
By 2040,it’s expected that half of Greater Sydney residents – more than 3 million people – will live in strata,making it a growing political issue.
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Cathy Sherry,a professor in the law school and the Smart Green Cities research centre at Macquarie University,said e-bike fires were a bigger risk in apartment living.
“It’s young people and travellers who have e-bikes and e-scooters,and they’re going to be in apartments rather than houses,” Sherry said.
Bicycle NSW chief executive Peter McLean said the safety concerns were real,but bans and overly restrictive bylaws in strata schemes went too far.
“We shouldn’t over-react,” he said. “E-bikes are the missing piece in the transport puzzle – they enable people of all ages and experiences to be able to access active transport.”
McLean said the real problem was that the federal government was not preventing cheap e-bikes,which can retail for as little as $500,from being imported and sold even though they don’t meet Australian safety standards and were likely to end up in landfill.
Stephen Brell,the NSW president of the Strata Community Association,an organisation of strata managers and owners corporations,said insurers were yet to get involved in the e-bike safety debate,but he believed this could happen.