| How can we help? |
| Answers to our most commonly asked questions are here |
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| Popular Categories |
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| General |
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What do I do in an after-hours emergency? (existing clients) |
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An emergency is any loss of essential services or an occurrence that is immediately potentially hazardous to the health and safety of residents/visitors or which puts your property at risk of significant or further damage. If the occurrence can wait until the following business day to be fixed, it should not be treated as an emergency. Please see our B/ Assured Emergency Response Service document for specific instructions on what to do. Please click here
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Who and what is a Strata Company? |
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A Strata Company is made up of the
individual owners within a complex through the shared ownership of common
property. The common property may include areas such as outside walls of the
building, the roofs, driveways, gardens, foyers, pools, gyms, lifts and much
more.
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What are the Strata Company’s obligations? |
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The strata company’s obligations are to manage the common property, if any exists, for the benefit of all owners and to hold such meetings as are required by the Strata Titles Act 1985. The strata company is also required to enforce the by-laws. The Council of Owners carries out the duties and obligations of the strata company.
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Do I have to contribute money to the Strata Company? |
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| Yes. A strata company is obliged to establish a fund for administrative expenses that, in the opinion of the company, is sufficient for the control and management of the common property and for the payment of insurance premiums and the discharge of any other obligations of the strata company. You are obliged to contribute to that fund by payment of a regular levy, usually quarterly. You may also be obliged to contribute further money or pay another (special/reserve) levy if the strata company decides to establish a reserve fund for the purpose of accumulating funds to meet contingency expenses, other than those of a routine nature, and other major expenses of the strata company likely to arise in the future. |
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Are Strata Company funds audited? |
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| There is no requirement under the Strata Titles Act, however Bellcourt Strata Management have their trust audited by an independent auditor annually and can provide financial reports, along with bank statements on a monthly, quarterly, bi-annually basis to the Council of Owners. |
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What is B Strata’s Privacy Policy |
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What is the Strata Council / Council of Owners (COO)? |
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| The COO is regarded as the board of directors of the strata company and councillors are elected at general meetings. COM’s have a range of duties and discretionary powers that are there to protect and promote the interests of all owners. An active council is the best way of ensuring that those duties are performed and those powers handled correctly. Any owner can be a councillor. The size of a council can be from 3 to 7 people, although in larger schemes the by-laws may be varied. Meetings are held as and when required and as long as a quorum is achieved those present can exercise all council functions. (refer to The Strata Titles Act 1985, Sections 44 to 48). |
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Where can I go for independent advice? |
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What does a Strata Manager do? |
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Strata Managers are responsible for the administration, financial and social management of each complex they manage.
This includes but is not limited to the below;
• Maintain the trust account
• Maintain all the accounting records
• Prepare and present annual financial budgets and statements
• Provide experience in handling 'difficult' or complex strata issues (like disputes, disasters and emergencies)
• Ensure the scheme complies with all other strata laws and regulations
• Maintain the key register and all the keys
• Issue levy notices
• Collect and deposit levy contributions
• Monitor levy arrears and liaise with owners to recover payments
• Liaise with lawyers to take legal action on levy defaulters (as required)
• Arrange quotations for all services and remedial works
• Prepare, implement and co-ordinate a Preventative Maintenance Program for the scheme
• Organise and co-ordinate repairs and maintenance of common property
• Check all tradespeople and specialists used for correct licensing and insurances
• Engage cleaners & gardeners and other tradespeople and specialists
• Process and pay invoices for work carried out on behalf of the Owners Corporation
• Prepare agendas and notices of all meetings
• Convene, hold and attend meetings
• Take, prepare and dispatch notices and minutes of all meetings
• Co-ordinate the adding or changing of the scheme's by-laws
• Assist auditors and tax agents with the scheme's accounts
• Liaise with the ATO/Tax Agent regarding the tax affairs of the scheme
• Attend to and maintain all correspondence of the Owners Corporation
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Can the council of owners change the strata manager? |
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| Under Section 44 of the Act, the functions of the Strata Company are carried out by the COO therefore they can appoint a new strata manager. It is possible, however, that your current strata manager has a binding contract in place and there may also be additional by-laws that restricts this authority, therefore we advise you check your management contract and by-laws. If you are unhappy with the service you are receiving from your manager, we advise that you first sit down with them to see if any shortcomings or differences can be worked out, before rushing off to find a new strata manager. |
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What steps are involved in changing to B Strata Management? |
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| Once the COO have undertaken a thorough due diligence screening and selected a suitably qualified and experienced strata manager the process is relatively simple. The outgoing management company is advised and a handover date is set, usually at the end of month, once all monthly contractor payments have been made. B Strata Management will then collect the cheques for your various accounts, along with your strata company’s books, records, keys, remotes and plans from your previous manager and integrate them into our internal filing system. The financial records are loaded into our system along with minutes and insurance certificates which are published on our website and new copies of your strata plan and by-laws are ordered from Landgate. Owners are allocated login details to our website and all property managers, mortgagees and vendors are advised of the change. During this time your strata manager will work closely with the COO to address any outstanding maintenance and management issues. |
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How can I obtain a copy of the by-laws/strata plan? |
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All bylaws and strata plans are accessible
via the Owner Portal.
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Can my selling agent advertise with a For Sale sign outside my unit/on the verge? |
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| Please review your management statement and by-laws and then contact your strata manager prior to the placement of any signs as there are often guidelines and regulations that have been established by the Council of owners when it comes to dealing with signage. |
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Am I allowed a pet? |
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| Please review your management statement and by-laws and then please fill in the pet application form attached below and send it to [email protected]. If in doubt, please contact your strata manager prior to submitting this form as there are often guidelines and regulations that have been established by the Council of owners when it comes to dealing with pets. |
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How do I apply to have a pet? |
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Please
review your management statement and by-laws and then please fill in the pet
application form on our online form section (click here). Automatically the
system will send the application to [email protected].
If in doubt, please contact your strata manager prior to submitting this form
as there are often guidelines and regulations that have been established by the
Council of owners when it comes to dealing with pets.
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Can I install an air conditioning unit/satellite dish/shade sail? |
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| Please review your management statement and by-laws and then please contact your strata manager prior to organising the installation of any such item. At a minimum your application form will need to detail the size of the unit, a map and photos on where the licensed contractor intends to install the unit and in the case of an a/c, details on how the condenser unit will be plumbed so as to avoid unwanted water run-off. |
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Why do I pay levies? |
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There are three main types of strata
levies:
Administrative fund levies to cover daily
running expenses like cleaning, gardening, electricity, annual insurance and general
building, plumbing and electrical work.
Reserve Fund levies to cover longer-term
maintenance and repairs including things like painting, or unplanned major
works like repairing concrete spalling or balconies.
Special levies to cover emergencies or unexpected expenses. Special levies are required from time to time to fund either planned or unplanned major works if there is not sufficient money in the capital works fund to cover the costs.
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What is a Council of Owners? |
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The Council of Owners, usually referred to
as the 'Council', are elected by the Strata Company at an annual general
meeting, to act and make decisions on behalf of all the owners within the
Strata scheme.
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If I buy into a strata scheme building do I automatically become part of the Strata Company? |
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You cannot buy into a strata scheme without
buying into the Strata Company. The two elements of your property rights are
separate but not separable.
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What exactly do I own in a strata scheme? |
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The lot boundaries can differ from one
strata plan to the next, therefore there is no fixed rule that applies to all
schemes. It is important that all lot owners are familiar with the strata plan
for the scheme which will define the lot boundaries (and therefore, what you
own as part of your lot and what is common property).
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If I buy into a strata scheme building what are my obligations, apart from costs? What are my rights? |
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You must pay your levies and comply with the scheme’s by-laws, which can cover everything from renovations to pets. You have the right to contribute to your community's decision making, to stand for a position on your council and generally be heard. As an owner, you also have a share of an unlimited liability for anything that goes wrong, which is why strata insurance is compulsory in every state and territory.
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Help, I have an emergency repair. |
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With B Strata, you can be assured that in an emergency, you
will have access to our Emergency Response Team via our dedicated emergency
line: 1300 722 445. Please see our B/ Assured Emergency Response Service
document for specific instructions on what to do. Please click here
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What is the benefit of having a professional strata manager, rather than self-managing the owners corporation? |
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The legislation governing Strata Companies and the compliance requirements are quite complex. Self-managed Strata Companies are expected to perform the role of a property manager, with the expertise of a lawyer, valuer, insurance broker and accountant on tap.
In addition, Strata Companies are well advised to make short and long term plans for ongoing, periodic, routine and urgent maintenance management. For owners who may have other jobs, getting to grips with all this can be daunting.
That’s why many Strata Companies are moving away from self management and turning to professional strata managers to assist with finances, insurance, administration, meetings and maintenance functions. Occasionally they are appointed to solve intractable problems, including those involving relationship breakdowns between lot owners.
Strata managers are experts in the administration of all aspects of Strata Companies. They work to ensure Strata Companies are compliant with their legal responsibilities and strive to protect owner assets.
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Can B Strata manage my complex? |
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Yes, (click here to fill out the form for a confidential, obligation-free quote)
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When did the Strata Reforms come into practice? |
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| Proclamation of the new Strata Titles Act was on 1st May 2020. |
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What are some areas of the reforms which Council of Owner members should be aware of? |
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We encourage you to read and understand the following sections:
Objectives of the strata company – Section 119
Council member compliance – Part 8, Division 4
Resolution for Council to execute documents – Section 118
Making of scheme bylaws – Section 44
Reserve Fund and 10 year plan – Section 100 |
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What are my duties as a member of Council? |
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See Section 137 of the Strata Titles Act. Duties of Council members include;
• acting honestly, with loyalty and in good faith.
• exercise the degree of care and diligence in the performance of those functions that a reasonable person in the person’s position and the circumstances of the strata company would reasonably be expected to exercise;
• must not make improper use of the person’s position to gain, directly or indirectly, an advantage for the person or any other person; or to cause detriment to the strata company.
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What is the new rate of interest for overdue levies etc? |
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| The new prescribed interest rate is 11% per annum (Reg. 78) |
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Can we now have remote meetings? |
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| Yes! Under the new legislation, attendance via telephone or video link is permitted and you will able to vote as you would if you attended in person. (Section 131) |
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What happens if only a few people turn up to a meeting? |
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Under the new legislation, a quorum is 50% of lots in the scheme entitled to vote (Section 130) however, if after 30 minutes there is no quorum, those present and entitled to vote constitute a quorum so you will no longer have to adjourn the meeting.
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Do we still have to post out all meeting correspondence? |
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Not anymore - under the new legislation, electronic distribution of meeting notices is considered valid if owners prefer to receive documentation this way.
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Do our existing bylaws fall away? |
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You may have heard of the new Governance and Conduct bylaws replacing Schedule 1 & 2 respectively. Your current bylaws will continue to be valid, but if you wish to make any changes to them you will need to lodge a consolidated set of bylaws, reclassifying them as needed, and omitting any by-laws that are inconsistent (Section 46).
We recommend engaging a lawyer to advise on reclassifying and consolidating your bylaws.
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Which of our existing bylaws might have become invalid following Proclamation? |
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| Your existing bylaws may be invalid under the new legislation for various reasons, including if they are discriminatory. Are they unfairly prejudicial to, or unfairly discriminatory against, one or more of the owners of lots, or are they oppressive or unreasonable? Areas to consider include pets, use of common facilities and restrictions on the development of lots. |
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Who is required to have a 10 year maintenance plan? |
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| Schemes over 10 lots, or over a $5,000,000 replacement cost are required to have a maintenance plan. |
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