These strata Q&As explain what strata levies cover and how strata levy increases work.
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- QUESTION: Our Council of owners have increased our strata fees mid-way through a quarter and have charged the fees for the whole quarter. Should they have not charged pro-rata?
- QUESTION: Our latest strata fee notice shows an increased from $197 to $279 a quarter. Can the strata company increase the levies by any amount they want?
- QUESTION: What do strata levies cover? I feel I receive nothing for the fees I pay. There are many problems around the building. Nobody seems to care about the complex or the people who live here.
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Question: Our Council of owners have increased our strata fees mid-way through a quarter and have charged the fees for the whole quarter. Should they have not charged pro-rata?
Our Council of owners have increased out strata fees mid-way through a quarter and have charged the fees for the whole quarter.
Should they have not charged at a pro-rata basis ie so many days at the old rate and the rest at the new rate or charged the new rate for the next quarter?
They will not enter into any discussion about the matter with lot owners.
Answer: Strata levies are determined at every AGM or if need be at an EGM by the strata company and the council of owners can only levy on owners what the strata company has determined.
Strata levies are determined at every AGM or if need be at an EGM by the strata company and the council of owners can only levy on owners what the strata company has determined. I would suggest that you get a copy of the latest AGM and or EGM minutes and see what was resolved concerning the budget and the accompanying levies and when they were to be invoiced to owners and how the initial levy amount was to be structured.
As levy are normally invoiced quarterly it would not be unusual to change the amounts from the commencement date of the subsequent quarter after the AGM or if an EGM had been a called.
Again, check the minutes and if they are not forthcoming under the Strata Titles Act 1985 Sections 107 and 109 you do have the right as an owner to inspect the records of the strata company, there will be fees involved however the regulations determine what fees can be charged to access the information.
Your first step is to access the minutes. These should be forwarded to all owners within a reasonable time after the meeting.
Brian Rulyancich
StrataTAC
T: 0428 970 067
E: [email protected]
This post appears in Strata News #403.
Question: Our latest strata fee notice shows an increased from $197 to $279 a quarter. Can the strata company increase the levies by any amount they want?
My wife and I own a townhouse in a strata complex of 9 in Western Australia. We are owner-occupiers and have owned the property since it was built 8 years ago.
We’ve just received our latest strata fee notice which has increased from $197 to $279 a quarter. Can the strata company increase the levies by any amount they want?
Answer: The Council of Management cannot make a decision to increase the levy payments themselves and can only collect the monies as determined and agreed at the Annual General Meeting.
The Strata Company (all owners collectively) go through a formal process annually to discuss the planning for the upcoming year. Every owner should be provided with a copy of the intended business for that meeting, including the estimates of the expenditure and the monies to be collected from the owners to meet that expenditure. These items are then voted on and carried by a majority of the owners at that meeting.
The Council of Management cannot make a decision to increase the levy payments themselves and can only collect the monies as determined and agreed at the Annual General Meeting.
It would be important to view the notice and minutes of the Annual General Meeting that agreed to this considerable increase in the fees to be able to determine the reasons behind the increase.
Determine what your strata levies cover
If the Strata Plan is such that the external walls and roof area are common property, then the Strata Company may be gathering funds for painting of the complex, or fairly major roof works as the property is now 8 years old and may be starting to show signs of wear and tear.
It is a matter to be looked at holistically with all aspects to be considered such as the boundaries of the Strata Plan, the formalities of the recent AGM and the adopted budget and proposed works (expenditure) to be reviewed.
Shelley Fitzgerald
Strata Alliance
E: [email protected]
P: 9330 3959
This post appears in Strata News #279.
Question: What do strata levies cover? I feel I receive nothing for the fees I pay. There are many problems around the building. Nobody seems to care about the complex or the people who live here.
I am a pensioner and the owner of a small unit in a WA strata complex. I pay Strata fees every 3 months. They are around $700 each quarter.
I feel I receive nothing for the fees I pay. There are many problems around the building. Nobody seems to care about the complex or the people who live here.
We do not have a Caretaker or somebody who maintains the building and common areas. No-one on the Council of Owners seems to have any idea about what they are required to do.
Answer: When you own a unit in a strata scheme, you own property “in common” with a bunch of other owners.
With the ever-rising cost of living, we all feel the pinch as nothing is free. There are many variables to consider and your costs for Strata Levies reflect those variables.
What Do Strata Levies Cover?
When you own a unit in a strata scheme, you own property “in common” with a bunch of other owners. In common means joint ownership of some or all of the buildings and land.
As you own your property in common, you are required to be a company. In this case, a Strata Company. Company law can also apply. In this company, you are a Director along with all of the other owners.
You can be held accountable, along with the other owners/directors, for failure to comply with the laws governing Strata Complexes in WA.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse if you are being sued e.g. if there is a pothole in the driveway and it is not repaired in a timely manner and someone living at the complex, visiting or a tradesperson doing work trips may trip on the pothole breaking his/her leg. If an insurance assessor deems your complex is run down or a pothole has been left to grow larger, you may void any cover you thought you had under the Strata Complex insurance.
Each Strata Complex has a Strata Plan. This plan has vital information on it. The Strata Plan states what each individual owns and what is common property or jointly owned.
If you have a small unit but it is in a strata complex of 100 units that indicates a large asset and common grounds which may include lifts, swimming pools, spas, large gardens, gyms, mechanical services, fire equipment, driveways, parking, common laundry, undercover parking, security, auto gates, CCTV, trees, bitumen, paving, barbecue areas, patios. The Strata Company must repair, maintain or replace any item of common property in need of maintenance. This maintenance what your strata levies go towards.
The Lot Owners are the Strata Company.
The Strata Complex must be insured.
You are a part owner in the complex.
At a General Meeting, Owners have the power to make decisions. One of those decisions is to elect a group of owners to oversee the running and management of the complex until the next AGM. As there is a considerable amount of administration required, the group of elected owners may choose to delegate those duties via the services of a Strata Management Company.
The Strata Manager acts as your administration arm – collecting funds, issuing invoices and paying bills, advising the elected owners on matters of compliance and the associated paperwork requirements.
Your $700 levy was approved by the Owners at a general meeting, along with approval of the budget, and may be made up of a Reserve Levy also (for future works). This will be apparent when reading the minutes of the general meeting. The owners must try and approve a sufficient Budget for expenses for the following year. This is usually based on the actual costs from the previous 12 months, with some variation if other works are planned.
Strata complexes need to have an active elected group of owners. There are publications such as the information contained here on the LookUpStrata site and works shops available for people to get an overview of strata. Some assistance may be available from Strata Management Companies who have fact sheets and include explanatory notes with notices of meetings.
The cost of management can be greatly reduced when owners are aware of their responsibilities.
As an Owner, you are a Director. As a Director you have power. Knowledge is power. If you are ill-informed, others will have power over you.
Strata Martyr
This post appears in Strata News #128.
Have a question about what strata levies cover or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
This article is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.
Please note this advice was provided prior to the proclamation of the new strata title amendments and will be updated in due course.
Related posts:
- WA: Q&A Strata Neighbour Noise Due to Hard Flooring
- WA: Q&A Lot Owner’s Overdue Strata Levies. What are the rules?
Still after more information about what strata levies cover or even more general articles about strata in WA? Visit our Your Strata Levies OR Strata Information WA
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I’m owner of a unit in a small complex of three. Since I arrived there is a lady “in charge” of the Strata Title. So called Secretary.
She charge me different amount of dollars every two months without inform what is that pays for. She oppose of any small improve i like to do, she says the property is common and it’s necessary ask to do so. The other owner lives In Singapore.
I don’t like to get into arguments. So I don’t know what to do and where ask for help or advised
I am the owner of a villa in a 12 units strata for over 55`s.. The owners are mostly older people : two are in hospitals , one was dead at the time of the latest AGM , for two others English is a second language , one is too ill to be bothered , there was another one who seemed interested in being active in the Council of Owners , but gave up because “life is too short” to waste in Council disputes , There are two ladies who are very active : one is self elected President of the Council who nominated her two friends Secretary and Treasurer of the Council of owners . The President also nominated volunteers two other owners who follow her directives .
The Manager was acting as Chairwoman in the last AGM and was cheering up with teenager enthusiasm for any proposal put forward by the Council of Owners Secretary.
I am one of the owners whose English is a second language. I had the proxy for one of the owners “whose life is too short to waste in the Council dispute”. I had a list of questions for the Secretary : any question was badly answered or not answered at all. The Secretary stated that she has no receipt for presumed work carried out by “very skilled ” workers on the roof of my villa badly damaged by a tall truck . The reason : in WA workers do not release receipts , confirmation was asked to one of the volunteers present who declined answering because hearing impaired… and so on . The Manager decided the majority win anyway and I was sadly outnumbered to have any right at all in that council.
I pay $440.00 a quarter for close to nothing . I do not even get minutes or communications other than to pay on time. It is clear that cannot be alright a majority obtained with proxies from people who do not know what is going on . I wish to know where my money are spent ,who get the interests, what kind of project my money are used for… As one of the Directors of the strata company I do not wish to be involved in any scum. We pay too much : I am very upset that people suggested I should look for a cheaper accommodation . I purchased the villa more than 10 years ago and I do not agree with the notion that we pay more to acquire some kind of better social status ?!!
Hi Luisa
This article should be helpful:
WA: Strata manager or council of owners not acting in your best interest?
I am a unit owner in a complex of eight commercials.Recently my roller door mechanism broke and the chain cannot lift it up.Also I have a box gutter running across my factory unit that is leaking down onto the work area.
I spoke to my strata manager who said it is classed as common area and that the work would be covered by building maintenance.
I went ahead and got quotes for the work and supplied them to the manager who turned around and said that gutters and external doors are my problem now .
Could you perhaps shed some light or direction on this matter please.
Thankyou.
Totally confused now!!!!
Gutters and external doors (front door) are common property and fixed through strata.
Can our strata manager release to an owner all the other owners private details emails address etc without consent
No they can’t.I wanted to access the emails of other owners in my complex who rent their property to notify of my intent to get our strata fees reduced and was told by the strata company that emails of other owners were not disclosed.
Hi Nola
The Act does provide for a “person with a proper interest” (which would include an owner within the scheme) to apply for information or to inspect and take extracts of that information (including photograph it). Fees may apply.
[see STA 1985 s.107-109]