Strata Title

So far this document has dealt with the sale and purchase of a home. There are other things that need to be attended to if you are buying a strata property (unit, townhouse or villa). However, the conveyancing procedure is mostly the same and most things applying to the sale and purchase of a home will apply to a strata property.

Some of the things you should know about a strata property are:

You do not own the building, the building is owned by the Owners Corporation of which all the owners in the strata plan are members. You actually own the airspace within the lot you have purchased.

The Owners Corporation takes out insurance on the building so you are not liable personally for taking out any building insurance. You do need to insure all contents.

The maintenance of the building and surrounds is the liability of the Owners Corporation.

In order to pay for the insurance and maintenance of the buildings each owner contributes by paying a quarterly levy to the Owners Corporation.

There will be a set of by-laws that you need to be aware of, however, these by-laws relate to the use of common property and the general rules of conduct within the buildings and surrounds for the convenience of the owners.

It is usual for the Owner’s Corporation to appoint a managing agent to manage the books and records and generally run the strata plan. Meetings will be held for all owners to attend at which the business of the running of the plan is discussed and the managing agent instructed to carry out that business.