Williams PotoHon POTO WILLIAMS (Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing)): The Government supports the passage of the Unit Titles (Strengthening Body Corporate Governance and Other Matters) Amendment Bill and once again I'd like to say congratulations to the member Nicola Willis for getting the bill to this final stage—pretty cool isn't it? Especially one with this level of complexity. A rare achievement for a member's bill. I would also like to say thank you to all the other members of this House from every party that have worked on this bill to make it as good as it can be; studying critiquing and debating it both in this Chamber and at select committee. The bill provides solutions to many longstanding issues within the exiting Unit Titles Act (UTA) such as lack of disclosure before purchase and lack of mention of body corporate managers who have become a prominent feature of the unit title sector. It will provide the guarantees and certainty that New Zealanders want when purchasing a unit title property to live in and will help make medium- and high-density living a safer and more appealing option for people. Requiring pre-purchase disclosure will improve transparency in the buying process by increasing the amount of information that must be disclosed to buyers allowing them to make informed decisions. The bill requires that any weathertightness issues or whether the building is earthquake-prone be disclosed to the buyer before purchase. Alongside adding pre-purchase disclosure the bill maintains the requirement in the current UTA for pre-settlement disclosure allowing for any new information that has come to light between pre-purchase and settlement to also be disclosed.The bill recognises the need for flexibility in managing unit title developments particularly those of different sizes. Therefore it makes a distinction between small unit title developments being those of less than 10 principal units; and large unit title developments those of more than 10 principal units. Small developments typically have fewer complex building systems than larger ones and typically less common property like lifts and hallways. As such smaller developments have the same level of requirements in terms of maintenance and long-term planning that larger developments have. This bill will mean that body corporate managers and the significant role they play in the unit title sector of the property market will finally be recognised in law and aims to increase their level of professionalism by providing a code of conduct for them to abide by. By default the bodies corporate of large developments are required to employ a body corporate manager. However they do have the option of opting out with a special resolution if they feel comfortable managing their own affairs. The bill strengthens the requirement for long-term maintenance plans in large developments by adding a further 20 years of high-level cost projections to the existing 10 years of detail cost estimations. This means that buyers can anticipate any upcoming major maintenance costs when deciding whether to buy an apartment. The bill requires the bodies corporate of large developments to establish a long-term maintenance fund by default but if they choose to they may opt out of this requirement with a special resolution; however they must also review this decision annually and if they decide to establish one after all they can do so with another special resolution. The body corporate also decides the level of funding and how their long-term maintenance plans will be funding—whether they fund repairs years in advance or at the time the money is required.The bill makes it simpler and cheaper to take disputes to the tribunal increasing access to redress and justice. It reduces the fees to file a dispute and increases the jurisdiction of tribunal from $50000 to $100000. This brings the UTA in line with changes made to the Residential Tenancies Act last year and means more cases will be able to go to the Disputes Tribunal rather than the District Court making access to justice faster and cheaper for applicants.After much deliberation we elected not to include any limits on how many proxy votes a person could hold. This is because for some a proxy vote was their only way to make their voice heard in the body corporate democratic process. Owners often give their vote to building managers for example because they may not know anyone else that they feel they can give their vote to. Therefore limiting the amount of proxy votes a person such as a building manager can hold carried a risk of restricting owners' voices in their bodies corporate. Reflecting changes we have seen in the way we work and live these last two years the bill makes permanent the current but temporary COVID-19 provision that allows for online body corporate meeting attendance which has become far more common than just a couple of years ago. I'd like to take a moment to thank all submitters—apartment owners bodies corporate body corporate managers and retirement villagers that have been involved in various stages of the bill's progression. A big thank you to the Finance and Expenditure Committee—Chlöe Swarbrick: Great committee.Hon POTO WILLIAMS: —for its careful consideration of the bill—great committee—and the amendments it has recommended based on the advice of officials and submitters. I'd also like to thank the officials who have worked on the policy and legislation process. I'd like to thank the committee of the whole House for their consideration of the bill. But last and certainly not least I'd like to thank the members who created this bill and their tireless efforts in pushing it across the finish line; the former member the Hon Nikki Kaye who first entered the bill before passing the mantle on to the Hon Judith Collins and then on to Nicola Willis who has led us to this point here and now. This bill will ensure that people will be able to purchase apartments in New Zealand with a renewed sense of certainty. Madam Speaker I recommend the bill to the House.