Residential Conveyancing

Strata Title Advice

If the property that you are purchasing is part of a set of units, flats, high rise apartments or other grouped dwellings or other forms of collective title, it is likely to have a strata title. When you buy in a strata title property, there are a number of additional obligations that you have. Our lawyers are trained to advise you on all aspects of Strata Title property, including the following areas:

• Body Corporates
• By-Laws
• Common Property
• Voting Rights
• Insurance
• Strata Titles Act

For more information on strata titles please download the document published by the Land Titles Office called Strata Title Living in Tasmania.

Back to TopBody Corporates

A body corporate is a special entity that is created on registration of the strata plan. The body corporate owns and administers all of the common property, and has other statutory responsibilites in relation to the strata title property as a whole. Each owner in a strata title property is a member of the body corporate, and must contribute to the costs of running and maintaining the common property. In Tasmania, many body corporates are not "active", even though they exist as a matter of law.

Back to TopBy-Laws

The body corporate administers the by-laws that govern ownership and tenancy of a strata title property. The Strata Titles Act provides a minimum set of "model" by-laws, but these are often extended and amended by individual body corporates. Breaches of the by-laws are enforceable under the Act. The by-laws can be changed by the owners from time to time, as required.

Back to TopCommon Property

All of the parts of a strata title property that do not form the individual dwelling units are called the common property. These can include driveways, carparks, foyers, lobbies, stairwells, lifts, hallways, and utility areas. It also includes the spaces and contents of those spaces, for example plumbing and wiring between adjoining apartments, both horizontally and vertically. The common property is controlled by the body corporate. As a minimum the body corporate must insure the common property, but it has the power to control it fully, including making resolutions to designate exclusive use rights over certain parts of the common property. This is most commonly done over carparking spaces.

Back to TopVoting Rights

Each owner of a lot in a strata title property is a member of the body corporate for that property. Being an owner of a lot also comes with unit entitlements for that lot. An owner is entitled to the number / proportion / percentage of votes that are granted by the unit entitlements for the lot. Methods and thresholds for voting and resolutions are set out in the body Corporate by laws.

Back to TopInsurance

The minimum statutory obligation of a body corporate is to insure the common property of a strata title property, although this is often not done because the body corporate is not active. In large body corporates often the whole property and all improvements are insured and the owners pay a contribution to that cost through the body corporate levy. In every case, a prudent property owner should ensure that their strata title property is adequately insured, including for a share of the common property if the body corporate is not active.

Back to TopStrata Titles Act

The Strata Titles Act 1998 is the legislation that regulates the construction, development, maintenance and management of all strata title properties in Tasmania. It is administered by the Recorder of Titles. If you have a grievance over a strata title property matter, remedies are available under the Act.

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