About Strata Title Management

By Author: Christopher Whelan
Total Articles: 74
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Strata title management was initially used as the only strategy for dividing ownership for property title (as a successor to company title, which divided ownership into parcels of shares). There are many other countries like Australia who are utilizing this strata management principle but with different definitions according to their administration. These countries include the United Kingdom, Canada, South Africa, New Zealand, India and the United Arab Emirates.

Though Australia has different legislation and jurisdiction for each state, the strata title acts are very similar with different names. During the 1980’s and 1990’s, most of the Australian states expanded their strata title legislation to include community title.

From its humble beginnings, strata development has rapidly changed and grown – within the next decade, the majority of people in Australia will be living in and buying into strata titled property. This is the only way forward for countries facing overcrowding and housing issues.

This strata title management legislation includes two main factors- the individual lot and the according ...
... share of the communal property (which may be made up of walkways, pools, lifts, gardens, etc.). Further to this, those owners in strata titled developments have an according share of the items like building insurance, cleaning and strata management.

Owners no longer own shares in a building, they own the airspace of the lot (which could be an apartment, a villa, a storage space, a car space or a marina berth) and they own part of the common property in shares according to their units of entitlement. The units of entitlement are established before a strata plan is registered and the share of the total units of entitlement represents the percentage contribution of the total units of entitlement of the building which owners need to make to owners corporation expenses

The problems faced by owners and residents in strata titled property can differ greatly from those faced by people in freestanding/Torrens type property. Neighbors are much closer when you live in strata titled development and it is very much a case of the majority rules. The possible conflictsare the same in every country that adopts this strata title management methodology – it’s definitely not a uniquely Australia feature.The best thing that a strata manager and owners corporation can do is anticipate these issues in advance so they can deal with them as they arise.

The courts have the power to decide strata titled matters, however in each state there is a tribunal in which these matters can be decided much more cheaply than if the issue was to go to Court. These tribunals are developing and changing rapidly to grow with the changing needs and disputes seen in strata titled properties.

Christopher Whelan is Licensed Strata Community Manager at Whelan Property Group Pvt. Ltd, has years of experience in the marketing and trading strata property Sidney industries. His online and offline knowledge regarding Strata management Sydney and schemes makes him a great resource for strata property dealings.