Out of time or back in play? The new six year limitation period for strata claims

On 1 July 2025, a key amendment to the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) came into effect, extending the limitation period to bring claims for reasonably foreseeable loss arising from an owners corporation’s failure to repair and maintain common property from two to six years. This change significantly alters the legal landscape for lot owners.

Previously, lot owners had only 2 years from the date they first became aware of the loss to commence proceedings. The amendment to 6 years is clear, but raises the question as to whether it applies retrospectively, that is, so as to revive claims which were already time-barred before 1 July 2025?

The prevailing judicial view is that amendments to limitation periods do not operate retrospectively to revive extinguished rights unless the legislature’s intention to do so is “clearly expressed.”

In Maxwell v Murphy (1957) 96 CLR 261, the High Court held that legislative amendments to limitation periods should not affect rights that had already accrued “unless the intention appears with reasonable certainty”. This principle was affirmed in Rodway v The Queen (1990) 169 CLR 515.

For lot owners with claims that became statute-barred before 1 July 2025, the amendment is therefore unlikely to revive those claims. However, for proceedings commenced or damage suffered within the new six-year window, the amendment will offer a broader opportunity to obtain redress.