Question: Where buildings are on separate titles, is an owner obliged to provide the body corporate with a copy of the policy, or other notification? We have 7 units on our plan with no shared roofs/walls. One lot owner is refusing to advise whether his unit is insured or not.
Answer: There is no requirement for owners to provide evidence of insurance for property they are responsible for insuring. The insurance arrangements are entirely a matter for the owner (including whether they insure the property or not).
This post appears in Strata News #578.
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.
I am looking to buy a strata title unit in Tas. Just two separate dwellings on block and no shared walls only a shared driveway. Real Estate says no Body Corp fees.
Both units have separate garden spaces but no dividing fences.
Do we each pay our own building insurance etc and tend to common ground ourselves as if we owned it. I assume it’s on one title.
Where can I get help?
Hi Val
This information from the Tasmanian Government should assist:
Strata Living in Tasmania
Hello we own a home which shares the entrance to our driveway no other common ground the dwellings are two houses far apart on the block do we need strata insurance ? both parties have agreed if the entrance needs maintenance we will share the cost
we live in Tassie
Hi alison
We refer you to Tyrone’s response in the Q&A article above to this question:
Question: For our duplex with no common grounds, do we need strata insurance or can each owner take out building insurance?
Have just found your interesting site.
Where buildings are on separate titles, is an owner obliged to copy to the body corporate
a copy of the policy, or other notification.
7 units on plan, no shared roofs/walls one owner from NSW will not advise with documentation that his unit is insured..
Act 1988 not much help.
Appreciate opinion.
How can I keep in touch?
John
Hi John
We have responded to your comment in the article above.
Hi, I bought a townhouse in Hobart, which is the real state agent said there is no Body corporate active or any fees for that, there is two units only we have share driveway and on the back yard we have share fans and there no any share comments with others. In this case do we need Strata insurance? Actually I have no idea about body corporate do I need to active the body corporate as my agent said there’s no corporate active or fees?
Thank you
Hi Mary
We have just received this reply back from Di Elliffe, OCN Tasmania:
Under the current Tasmanian Strata Titles Act 1998, on registration of a strata plan a Body Corporate is established and given a name. The members of the Body Corporate are the owners of the lots contained in the scheme. A Body Corporate is required to appoint a chairperson, secretary and treasurer and should hold Annual General Meetings. At these meetings the value of the members’ voting rights may depend on their Unit Entitlement or they may be all equal, depending on the scheme’s by-laws.
Under the Act, the Body Corporate holds any common property in trust for the owners of the lots, and can make decisions on how that common property is managed, used, leased or sold.
Section 81 of the Tasmanian Act lists the duties of the Body Corporate, which include taking out insurance for all buildings and other improvements on the site, whether these are on common property or are on privately owned lots. The government-produced booklet “Strata Living in Tasmania” helps to clarify the insurance responsibilities of the Body Corporate and notes that all strata schemes contain areas of common property, which may in some cases consist only of underground or overhead services (page 7).
Lot owners should carefully check their title deeds to be quite clear on where their individual lot ends and the common property begins. The Body Corporate must create a fund to handle any common property-related costs which come along. For example, insurance is a regular annual cost.
Schedule 1 of the Act contains the Model By-laws, which are taken to be adopted by every Body Corporate unless they have developed and registered their own set of by-laws.
In your case, you state that the common property includes the driveway and the fences. You should check whether there are other property improvements or service infrastructure that would be included as common property. Many two lot strata schemes operate fairly informally, meeting once a year to confirm insurance and to discuss use of the common property or changes or improvements. It is important to have these regular meetings and conversations, to build relationships of trust and goodwill, before difficult issues such as the need for significant investment arise.
This is general information only and not legal advice.
Di Elliffe
OCN Tasmania
W: https://ocn.org.au/
This information is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.