Question: Once complete, are owners required to notify the body corporate of the renovations and cost, particularly where it may affect insurance?
Putting approval for renovations to one side, is it mandatory that owners notify the body corporate at the conclusion of their renovations? Are they required to provide information on the improvements made and the resulting costs, where that may affect insurance increases borne by the owner?
Answer: Whether any insurance premium is likely to increase may be doubtful and unknown at the time.
Tyrone Shandiman, Strata Insurance Solutions:
From a body corporate perspective, there can be obligations around renovations. These are usually set out in the by-laws or renovation approval conditions, and, in some cases, may include notifying the committee upon completion of works. It depends on the scheme’s specific rules rather than a universal requirement.
From an insurance standpoint, it works a bit differently. The building policy is designed to cover the full replacement of the building up to the declared sum insured. Most strata policies include an additional allowance for lot owners’ fixtures and improvements, typically $250,000 to $300,000 per lot, and sometimes capped at a percentage of the building sum insured. This allowance is intended to account for upgrades such as renovated kitchens, bathrooms, or higher-end finishes.
It is also worth noting that insurance is based on replacement cost, not the original spend. In many cases, a newly renovated area may not materially change the replacement value if the cost to rebuild it is similar to what was already there on a new-for-old basis.
In practice, these built-in allowances act as a buffer for most renovations. Owners generally do not need to notify the insurer of upgrades unless the value of the improvements exceeds the limits ($250,000 to $300,000 per lot). If that happens, the building sum insured may need to be reviewed and increased to ensure adequate cover.
Jarad Maher, Grace Lawyers:
From a legislative perspective, yes.
Section 202 of the Body Corporate and Community Management (Standard Module) Regulation 2020 (the Standard Module) (section 192 of the Body Corporate and Community Management (Accommodation Module) Regulation 2020 (the Accommodation Module)) requires an owner to give the body corporate notification of the details of the nature and value of improvements made to the lot, or common property for the benefit of the lot, where the premium for reinstatement insurance required to be taken out by the body corporate is likely to increase.
If the owner fails to provide the requisite notification, the owner is liable to reimburse the body corporate for any payment that has to be made for the cost of reinstatement or repair to the lot, another lot or the common property (but only to the extent that the need for the payment is attributable to the owner’s failure to provide the required notice).
Of course, as Tyrone indicates, whether any insurance premium is likely to increase may be doubtful and unknown at the time. Nonetheless, if the owner wants the guarantee of protection for the works, they should provide the requisite notice to the body corporate. Of course, if the premium does increase as a result of the works, then the owner is likely to have to bear the cost of the additional premium in accordance with the powers of the body corporate to adjust the insurance contributions levied on that owner as a result of the improvements (section 201 of the Standard Module; section 191 of the Accommodation Module).
This post appears in the June 2026 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Jarad Maher
Grace Lawyers
E: jarad.maher@gracelawyers.com.au
Tyrone Shandiman
Strata Insurance Solutions
E: tshandiman@iaa.net.au
P: 1300 554 165
This information is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances. Shandit Pty Ltd T/As Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisenent Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.
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