A decision not to act is still a decision. You’re deciding to do this ‘later.’ And later will cost you more than you think.
Across Victoria, owners corporations are facing a perfect storm: rising costs, ageing buildings and the highest voting threshold of any state in the country. These factors make it harder than anywhere else in Australia to pass necessary works, approve a special levy or to borrow.
The result is predictable. Motions get voted down. Decisions get deferred. And while committees deliberate, project scopes grow and costs climb – turning what was once a manageable repair into a major, unplanned capital works project.
Is The Cost of Delay Purely Financial?
Rarely. Kicking the can down the road tends to compound the initial problem in ways that go beyond the budget. It spawls to:
- growing repair scopes
- urgent compliance pressures
- stress on committees and strata managers to make timely decisions
- greater risk in the long-term condition and value of the building
The stakes have never been higher. And costs will only continue to rise.
Why Are Strata Repair Costs Rising So Fast?
Over the past five years, construction costs in Australia have surged by nearly 50%, driven by labour shortages, supply chain disruptions and global events affecting fuel and materials. Ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have placed further pressure on petrol and freight costs – factors that directly influence building materials, logistics and contractor availability.
For many Victorian apartment owners, this has meant significant and unexpected increases in repair and maintenance costs.
How Doing Nothing Turned a $250,000 Repair into a $1 Million Project
One of our Victorian clients learned firsthand how costly doing nothing can be.
A Melbourne property first approached us in 2022 looking to fund $250,000 of necessary repair works. They chose to do it ‘later’. It cost them an additional $750,000.
Two years later, when they chose to act, continued deterioration combined with rising labour and material costs pushed the same project to nearly $1 million – almost four times the original estimate.
The delay didn’t just defer the cost. It multiplied it.
Defects don’t patiently wait while owners and committees deliberate. They spread, they sprawl, they worsen and cost your community more.
This is not isolated case. Across Australia, delayed maintenance and necessary works are routinely escalating into costly, large-scale projects they weren’t prepared for.
Acting Early Protects your Building… and your Budget
Australia is now home to more than four million people living in strata – in buildings collectively worth over an estimated $1.4 trillion. With infrastructure ageing and compliance regulations tightening, proactive maintenance is no longer optional. It’s essential!
Tackling necessary works sooner stops small problems from becoming big, costly ones. It also gives committees the breathing room to proactively plan, make more informed decisions and choose the right projects to protect and grow the value of owners’ assets; rather than scrambling to act under pressure.
Is Having a Maintenance Fund Enough for Strata Works?
Many apartment owners assume a maintenance fund is the safest and most responsible way to finance necessary works. But in most cases, it simply isn’t keeping pace with the cost of the works it’s supposed to cover.
Legislation requires tier one and tier two owners corporations to operate a maintenance fund and also requires that fund to be held in accounts with approved banking institutions – meaning low risk, low returns and slow growth. This makes a maintenance fund one of the least cost-effective funding options in a rising cost environment.
What Happens when Rising Costs Outpace your Maintenance Fund?
In simple terms, it means the real value of your maintenance fund is quietly shrinking. The money you contribute today will buy less tomorrow – and in this rising cost environment the gap will only get bigger.
You save. Costs rise faster. Your fund falls behind. The repair and maintenance bill continues to grow… then what?
Are Special Levies the Best Option for Capital Works in Strata?
Not always. In today’s economic climate, special levies can create significant delays and financial stress for owners. However, special levies have an important role to play in strata funding and are traditionally the go-to funding solution for many strata communities.
Not every household has $5,000 or $15,000 available at short notice. Even a modest special levy can strain household budgets, particularly for retirees and families already facing rising living costs, or investors managing multiple properties.
For committees and strata managers, this presents a practical challenge: how to fund urgent works without placing undue pressure on owners.
Concerns about affordability often result in delays. Delays increase costs and reduce affordability. Compounding the stress and the concerns they were trying to avoid.
The Real Cost of Doing Nothing
“We’ll deal with that later” is one of the most expensive sentences in strata. It really means “we’ll be paying a lot more for it later”.
Delays almost always equal higher costs. The damage and impact go beyond the budget. Deferred decisions creates uncertainty, stress and unexpected costs for all owners down the line.
The funding decisions owners corporations make directly impact:
- Community wellbeing and livability
- The cost and tax liabilities for owners
- Each owner’s return on investment
Buildings do not repair themselves. Issues don’t wait patiently.
They escalate. They compound. They Multiply.
But timely, informed decisions can positively change the outcome.
For Victorian owners corporations, the message is clear: acting early isn’t just responsible… it’s economical.
This post appears in the May 2026 edition of The VIC Strata Magazine.
Josh Klemm
Lannock
E: joshua@lannock.com.au
P: 04 0000 6988
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