Michael Teys is the founder of The Strata Professionals Group and the architect of the professional standard every office in the network operates to.
He brings more than 40 years in strata — including over 30 years as a specialist strata lawyer — a decade of strata business ownership, and an active programme of academic research into multi-owned property governance.
Michael practised as a specialist strata lawyer from 1994, advising committees, developers, and owners across the full spectrum of strata disputes, compliance, and governance, and served as a Fellow of the Australian College of Strata Law. He went on to own and run strata management companies across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Western Australia, managing a combined portfolio of tens of thousands of apartments. Running those businesses gave him direct exposure to the operational pressures strata managers face — and revealed the structural weaknesses that became the catalyst for founding the network.
He holds a Master of Philosophy (Built Environment) from UNSW, where his thesis examined how mixed-use strata developments create anti-commons risks that impede urban renewal, completed under an Australian Research Council scholarship. He has been accepted at the University of Oxford to undertake a Doctorate of Philosophy in Law. He has held research positions at the City Futures Research Centre (UNSW) and Deakin University, and presents regularly at international forums including Oxford, the House of Commons, and the International Research Forum on Multi-Owned Properties in Spain, Canada and Australia.
Michael writes The Strata Professional, a weekly newsletter on strata law, committee governance, and why true professionalism matters in this industry. You can learn more about him at michaelteys.com.
This combination of legal practice, business ownership, and research is the foundation of the franchise standard. Every element of how the network operates — from the no-commission pricing structure to the Balanced Strata Method™ — is grounded in something tested rather than assumed.
This final episode draws parallels to similar situations like New Zealand’s leaky building syndrome of the 1990s to discuss how Australia can best move forward on the pathway to rectification.
Watch or listen as we evaluate the conflicting policies, new laws and the ethics of cladding, and also name the three standout government regulatory responses that hold great hope for the future.
The New South Wales government has released details about how it will help strata owners remove combustible cladding from the worst affected high-rise buildings in the state. The initiative has been badged, Project Remediate.
If there is one group of property owners who have fared badly in the cladding crisis, second only to the fire victims and their families, it is the owners of strata titled apartments. Learn as we explain how their situation is unique and differs from corporate property owners in three ways.
In the early hour of November 25th, 2014 at Melbourne’s Lacrosse tower, a fire began with a smoldering cigarette on the balcony of apartment 805 left atop a plastic food container.
Final NSW parliamentary report on building defects reveals striking example of continued regulatory failure and high rectification costs for owners
Do you understand your insurer’s stance on the cladding crisis? This episode helps explain the insurance industry’s dilemma when it comes to Aluminium Composite Panels (ACP).
Watch or listen as we challenge the assertion that cladding with anything under 30% Polyethylene (PE) content is okay so you can determine for yourself - Are things that burn a little bit ok?
A joint Deakin / Griffith University study, ‘An Examination of Building Defects in Residential Multi Owned Properties’, was coincidentally launched within days of the Opal Tower building evacuation on Christmas eve, 2018. It provided an academic foundation to the intense public and regulatory debate that ensued about the strata building defect crisis.
This episode dissects the Building Code of Australia (BCA) pathway to compliance for combustible cladding and how the Australian Building Codes Board (ABCB) has reacted to Aluminium Composite Panels (ACP).
