This short article is part of our '20 high impact research stories' series. This has been assembled to mark two decades of the City Futures Research Centre 2005-2025. Each of the 20 stories revisits an influential research study completed over those 20 years, linking it with related Centre projects and outcomes. A brochure version of all 20 stories will be published later in 2025.

With an estimated four million people now living in strata and community titled homes in Australia, strata living has become a defining feature of Australian cities. Large numbers of property owners find themselves in a legally binding relationship with their neighbours for the communal upkeep and maintenance of their property. Recognising the rising significance of this model, the City Futures Research Centre undertook the landmark study Governing the Compact City: The role and effectiveness of strata management in higher density residential developments (2012), led by Professor Bill Randolph with Professor Hazel Easthope. This project laid the foundation for a national conversation on strata governance by providing the first comprehensive assessment of how the system works for owners, residents, and managing agents. 

The project revealed that while strata title has expanded access to homeownership, it has also created new legal entities, owners corporations, that have responsibilities for collecting levies, maintaining buildings and managing resident behaviour. Yet, these bodies are typically governed by volunteer owners with no formal training, charged with managing multi-million-dollar assets and ensuring community cohesion. Drawing on extensive survey and interview data from over 1,500 stakeholders, the research identified five critical challenges: lack of owner engagement, unresolved building defects, inadequate financial planning for repairs, ineffective dispute resolution, and limited legal literacy among owners. 

This project’s impact has been profound. The findings informed the Strata Schemes Management Act NSW 2015, have been referenced by the Singapore Strata-titles Tribunal (2017) and in submissions to the UK Leasehold reform inquiry (2018), and by multiple peak body organisations, including the UK Association of Residential Managing Agents in 2019 and the US Foundation for Community Association Research in 2020. The study and subsequent related research received the highest possible rating for impact in the ARC national engagement and impact assessment in 2019.  

Building on this work, City Futures addressed another pressing issue, building quality, in Cracks in the Compact City: Tackling defects in multi-unit strata housing (2021), led by Professor Bill Randolph with A/Prof Laura Crommelin. Prompted by high-profile apartment evacuations in Sydney, the project examined the chronic presence of defects in new developments. It revealed how market failures, including “split incentives” and information asymmetries between developers and buyers, allow defects to proliferate, often with devastating personal and financial consequences for residents. Drawing on the findings from this research project, we have worked with the Strata Community Association (NSW) to produce a free guide to rectifying defects. These insights were also shared in a submission to the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the regulation of building standards, building quality and building disputes. We called for extending the duty of care owed to home-owners (including through extended timeframes for building defect claims), and greater oversight of strata development by the Building Commissioner.  

To further address these systemic weaknesses, a third project, Constructing building integrity: Raising standards through professionalism (2023), explored how professional standards across the building lifecycle can strengthen trust and accountability. Led by Griffith University with City Futures staff Prof Hazel Easthope and Dr Charlie Gillon and City Futures Fellow Prof Michael Ostwald, this ARC Linkage project mapped the “integrity systems” of professionals and para-professionals involved in the construction of apartment buildings, highlighting how fragmented oversight and ethical tensions across professions undermine quality outcomes. It proposed bold, sector-wide recommendations, including the creation of Centres of Excellence and improved professional regulation. 

Together, these three projects demonstrate how evidence-based research can shape discourse, drive reform, and support better outcomes for the millions of Australians living in high-density housing. From governance to construction quality and professional accountability, City Futures’ research has carved out a crucial space in Australia’s urban policy landscape.