Strata title - Shire Legal | Miranda | Sutherland Shire

Strata title

A strata title is the most common title associated with townhouses and home units and is evidence of ownership of a unit, which is called a "lot", in a strata plan. A strata plan divides a building and its associated land into lots, each of which has a strata title, and usually common property.

Common property is the part of the land and building in the strata plan which does not form part of any unit (e.g. stairways, passages, driveways and visitors' carparking).

Owners Corporation

The Owners Corporation (previously referred to as the body corporate) comprises the registered owners of all of the units in the strata plan. An owners corporation and its committee has powers and responsibilities to administer the building and care for such things as the land around the building, entrance, stairways and paths.

Strata levies

Strata levies are the fees paid by each lot owner to the Owners Corporation (usually quarterly) to contribute to the general upkeep and maintenance of the building and the common property. There are 3 types of strata levies:

administrative fund (for day-to-day running expenses such as gardening and cleaning)
sinking fund (for long term repairs and maintenance such as carpet replacement)
special levies (if there aren't enough funds in the admin or sinking funds for essential expenses)

The levies are determined each year by the Owners Corporation, with reference to the strata scheme's budget. The amount of levies payable by each lot owner is determined by the "unit entitlements". Basically, the larger the lot, the greater the portion of levies that it needs to contribute to.

Strata inspection report

Before entering into a Contract to purchase a strata property, or during the cooling-off period, Shire Legal recommends that you obtain a strata inspection report from a reputable inspection company. The strata inspection report will include:

the financial status of the scheme

pending building works

special levies

past works history

all expenses for the past two years

10-year budget analysis

general information on:

insurances
by-laws
any disputes
any other areas under investigation

For more information about strata schemes, visit the NSW Dept of Fair Trading's website.

For more information about buying into a strata scheme, click here.

By-laws

When a strata scheme is first registered with the Land & Property Information Service (formerly the Land Titles Office), a model set of by-laws is selected to apply to the strata scheme. The owners corporation can subsequently change or cancel any of the strata scheme's by-laws by passing a special resolution. Shire Legal can assist the owners corporation and/or the strata manager by drafting by-laws allowing, for example, the installation of air-conditioners, construction of pergolas, the keeping of animals, exclusive use of common areas etc.

Contact Shire Legal to arrange a consultation with an experienced Solicitor, or to arrange a free copy of the Law Society's pamphlet "Buying a strata unit?".

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Suite 9
46-48 Urunga Parade
Miranda NSW 2228 Australia

Phone: 02 9526 3444
Fax: 02 9526 3499

Phone: 02 9526 3444 Fax: 02 9526 3499 Email: info@shirelegal.com.au