These questions are about individual strata insurance and AGMs for a small strata scheme in Victoria.
Table of Contents:
- QUESTION: For a small 4 unit strata scheme, are we legislated to hold AGMs or carry out any other activities in terms of the owners corporation?
- QUESTION: In a small scheme, if all 3 units have separate insurance, does the common property driveway need separate insurance too? Should all lot owners contribute to the common property insurance?
- QUESTION: Who is responsible for insurance to cover townhouses that are on their own title? I believe lot owners would be responsible for individual strata insurance.
- QUESTION: I have just purchased a unit and have been told by the real estate agent the body corporation was never exercised and the other owners got their own individual strata insurance. How can this be?
- QUESTION: Although we have an Owners Corporation, we have no common property. How does insurance work? Do we need individual strata insurance? Should Public Liability be part of this?
Question: For a small 4 unit strata scheme, are we legislated to hold AGMs or carry out any other activities in terms of the owners corporation?
We’ve bought a unit in a 4 unit strata complex in Northern Melbourne. The only common property is the driveway and the only expense is the strata insurance policy covering all 4 units.
Are we legislated to hold AGMs or carry out any other activities in terms of the owners corporation?
Answer: We recommend that your Owners Corporation at least hold an annual general meeting resolving to raise a budget to cover the common driveway and strata insurance expenses.
The Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Act) requires that the Owners Corporation pass resolutions when it takes actions. Passing resolutions and recording them through meeting minutes or ballot results record the decision of your Owners Corporation when it raises funds for expenses each year.
Further, an Owners Corporation is only capable of making legal decisions and validate its actions when it passes resolutions.
Therefore, at a minimum we recommend that your Owners Corporation at least hold an annual general meeting resolving to raise a budget to cover the common driveway and strata insurance expenses.
Rochelle Castro
RC & Co Lawyers
E: [email protected]
P: 1300 072 626
This post appears in the March 2022 edition of The VIC Strata Magazine.
Question: In a small scheme, if all 3 units have separate insurance, does the common property driveway need separate insurance too? Should all lot owners contribute to the common property insurance?
We live in a Unit in a small 3 lot scheme in Victoria.
The only common property is a common driveway used by 2 of the lots. The other lot has seperate access to their garage and does not use the common driveway.
The owner with their own access has not been contributing towards the common property driveway insurance for several years now. They believe that, as their property is independent, and they don’t use the common driveway.
The other Owner has a standalone insurance for his property only. Can I also just get building insurance for my Unit? If yes, does the common driveway need to be insured separately?
Answer: If all 3 lots are within the boundary plan, it means that to comply with the legislation, the Owners Corporation must insure all lots via strata insurance.
Section 59 (1) of the Owners Corporation Act 2006 requires that An owners corporation must take out reinstatement and replacement insurance for all buildings on the common property in accordance with this Division.
If all 3 lots are within the boundary plan, it means that to comply with the legislation, the Owners Corporation must insure all lots via strata insurance. But notwithstanding, if there is no common property the owners corporation can insure the buildings separately in accordance with section 63 By unanimous resolution, an owners corporation may resolve that, if there is no common property, each lot owner must arrange for the lot owner’s own insurance.
Should there be any issues with owners agreeing to take out cover in accordance with their legislative requirements we recommend contacting Consumer Affairs Victoria for further advice on how to navigate the issue.
Tyrone Shandiman
Strata Insurance Solutions
T: 07 3899 5129
E: [email protected]
Disclaimer: 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 and the specific coverage afforded under their policy wording. Shandit Pty Ltd T/As Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisernet Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.
This post appears in Strata News #420.
Question: Who is responsible for insurance to cover townhouses that are on their own title? I believe lot owners would be responsible for individual strata insurance.
I own and occupy a townhouse in Victoria within a development containing 10 townhouses each on its own title.
We are part of an owners corporation which has responsibility for the common area consisting of only the driveway, lawn and gardens.
Who should be responsible for building insurance? The Owners Corporation managers believe the Corporation is responsible and has taken out insurance to cover all the buildings but as they are not on the common property I believe it is our responsibility to have our own individual strata insurance.
I would rather not pay 2 premiums but need to be sure who should carry the insurance.
Answer: The answer will depend on your specific strata plan, its boundaries and if there are differing title types.
The answer will depend on your specific strata plan, its boundaries and if there are differing title types.
Section 59 of the Owners Corporation Act (2006) states that
“An owners corporation must take out reinstatement and replacement insurance for all buildings on the common property…”.
If it is the case that the townhouses are within the boundary of the plan, then the building insurance ought to be placed by the owners corporation.
If however, the townhouses are on completely separate titles, then there is no legislative necessity for the owners corporation to place the building insurance.
Section 63 of the Owners Corporation Act (2006) states that
“…an owners corporation may resolve that, if there is no common property, each lot owner must arrange for the lot owner’s own insurance.”
This may arise if there is one strata plan for the townhouses where no common property exists and a separate strata plan for the drive way area.
Go ahead and have a look at your strata plan to see what the exact layout is and apply the legislation as appropriate.
Keep in mind that your owners corporation manager may receive a commission if they arrange your insurance so there is an incentive for them to err on the side having the owners corporation insure the building.
You may also want to keep in mind that it is usually going to be cheaper to insure all buildings by one strata policy rather than individually. Strata policies also tend to have broader cover and be better designed for losses that occur in strata.
Simon Plummer
StrataRatings
E: [email protected]
This post appears in Strata News #246.
Please note that the above is not intended to provide advice of any type and merely discusses the issues raised broadly. Professional assistance should be sought should you require advice.
Question: I have just purchased a unit and have been told by the real estate agent the body corporation was never exercised and the other owners got their own individual strata insurance. How can this be?
I have a query regarding strata insurance. I have recently purchased a property in Victoria which has an inactive body corporate (stated in the contract of sale). The property is a unit and there are 3 units in total. The common property shared is the driveway.
There is an Owners Corporation Search Report which states that the land is affected by owners corporation and there is no manager. I have been told by the real estate agent that body corporation was never exercised and the other owners got their own individual strata insurance. I thought this was not possible as insurance companies do not provide cover for one property if it is covered by body corporation.
I am looking to move in next week and will try to make contact with the owners prior to that but what should the necessary steps I take to ensure I am covered by insurance when I move in? Do I need to take up strata insurance myself across the entire block, or can I insure for only common property? I am a bit conscious that if something adverse were to happen post moving in and I do not have insurance then I may be left stranded. Can you please advise what the best steps for me might be?
Answer: The Victorian legislation requires that and Owners Corporation insures the common property, all buildings and the Owners Corporations Legal Liability. There is an exception for some two-lot schemes, however, being a three unit property, insurance would be required.
The Victorian legislation requires that and Owners Corporation insures the common property, all buildings and the Owners Corporations Legal Liability. There is an exception for some two-lot schemes, however, being a three unit property, insurance would be required.
Here’s a brief summary.
In the case that the Owners Corporation is not active, it would be prudent to make it active as there are many legislative requirements that need to be complied with. In the case that the owners have limited knowledge of these requirements, it could be a good option to appoint a Strata Manager. In any case, it is very important that the Owners Corporation arranges insurance to ensure there is cover in the case an event occurs.
Simon Plummer
StrataRatings
E: simon.pl[email protected]
This post appears in Strata News #175.
This article is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.
Question: Although we have an Owners Corporation, we have no common property. How does insurance work? Do we need individual strata insurance? Should Public Liability be part of this?
I live in a home that is made up of 3 houses. It was originally a subdivision. The builder set up the Owners Corporation. There is NO common property at all, no common driveway, nothing. None of us are the original owners, so started looking into individual strata insurance.
It seems this can’t be done – well, at least not without a lot of expense. We have no meetings or anything as there is really nothing to discuss. We all pay for any/all maintenance for our own houses (which are houses, not joined units). We only need to come together once a year to pay for our portion of the building insurance.
We just noticed that there is a $10,000,000 public liability insurance added on to our policy. The conveyancer we just consulted about possibly cancelling the Owners Corporation told us that, as we have no common property, any public liability claim would be against us individually, not the body corporate. If there was a claim they would refuse to pay it as it wouldn’t have occurred on common property.
Hence I asked our broker to remove this from the policy. She told me that it is compulsory and can’t be removed. Is this correct? It doesn’t seem right to me that you have to pay insurance for something you could never claim on.
Answer: As this property is an Owners Corporation, it must comply with the regulations set out in the Owners Corporation Act 2006
To answer the question we have quoted the relevant expert from the Act. Under the Owner’s Corporation Act of 2006 it states the following:-
OWNERS CORPORATIONS ACT 2006 – SECT 60
Public liability insurance
- An owners corporation must take out public liability insurance for the common property in accordance with this section.
- The public liability insurance required under subsection (1) is insurance for any liability of the owners corporation to pay compensation in respect of—
- any bodily injury to or death or illness of a person; and
- any damage to or loss of property—
which is sustained as a result of an occurrence or happening in connection with the common property.
If owners require further clarification or have any questions about individual strata insurance, we suggest contacting Consumer affairs.
Whitbread Insurance Brokers
T: 1300 424 627
E: [email protected]
This post appears in Strata News #222.
Please note this Q&A response is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice. Please contact Whitbread Associates Pty Ltd ABN 69 005 490 228 Licence Number: 229092 trading as Whitbread Insurance Brokers for further information.
Read next:
- Owners Corporation Insurance Requirements Victoria
- VIC: Q&A Underinsurance, Building Sum Insured and Strata
Visit our Strata Insurance OR Strata Title Information Victoria.
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Have a question or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
I am still a little confused as to if or not we need to take out common ground insurance; we live in a block of 2 units both privately owned and share only 1 driveway; Suncorp told me that we need full strata insurance to cover both buildings and the driveway but another insurer has told me we just need cover for the driveway and can each take out our own building insurance. Please can someone help advise what cover we need?
Thank you
We have in May this year purchased a house in a block of 6 units which has common property. I immediately on confirmation of sale, taken out house insurance, even though it is a rental property. Now I have discovered that the house insurance was legitimate because I insured it though our usual insurance company that did not cover Strata Title, so had to cancel the insurance. The Corporate Body has been handling the property with only common area insurance. Now other owners will be discovering (due to me) that their current ‘house insurance’ may not cover their purchased houses, being rental or otherwise, as we are a Strata Title. Is the Owners Corporation legally responsible for ensuring that all the Lots are insured, houses and common areas regardless of the individual owners ideas? I can’t afford not to have the property uninsured but where do I go if the other owners refuse to pay for strata title insurance? At time of sale the Body Corporate did not mention/discuss with me that the properties were uninsured through the Body Corporate, they only mentioned in writing the ‘Common Area ‘ insurance. Please help. I have urged the Body Corporate to take action to resolve the issue.
Regarding questions similar to:
“We live in a Unit in a small 3 lot scheme in Victoria. The only common property is a common driveway…”
That have answers similar to:
“The owners can insure their properties separately (home insurance), however a separate strata policy must be taken out for the driveway…”
Could it be explained how s.63 of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 can be avoided?
S.63 seems to imply that if there is any common property at all, strata (building) insurance must cover all of the lots. And that it’s only if there is no common property and by unanimous resolution, that the obligation for lot (building) insurance can be passed to the lot owners.
“63 Insurance not required where there is no common property
By unanimous resolution, an owners corporation may resolve that, if there is no common property, each lot owner must arrange for the lot owner’s own insurance.”
Hi Austman
Very good point mentioned and I appear to have not fully considered the legislation. Following your comments, we have updated the article. Thank you for pointing this out to us.
Tyrone Shandiman
It is to be noted that despite an Owners Corporation having more than 2 Lots there may not be a requirement for individual units to be insured by the Owners Corporation. It comes down to whether the building is located on common property. Refer S.59(1) of the Owners Corporations Act.
Often stand alone units/townhouses are not located on common property and therefore the Owners Corporation is not required to take out insurance. It is up to an individual owner to obtain their own insurance cover.