Strata strain

Strata is a tricky business. Ideally, it’s a wonderful entity that protects the apartment-dwelling community’s best interests. In reality, it can devolve into a mess of bureaucracy. To help you navigate this as best as possible, let’s look at your rights as an owner and what to do if your strata meetings and negotiations dissolve into something resembling Lord of the Flies.

Your rights

Every state has different strata laws and regulations, so first, familiarise yourself with your relevant state: NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, WA, TAS, NT, ACT. Other than that, you should make sure you acquaint yourself with your strata report; this outlines the strata committee by-laws, fees and your voting rights at meetings.

As an owner, it helps to remember that although you are on the owners corporation, you really own only your apartment’s airspace and its contents: walls, floors and ceilings are a whole other kettle of fish. Hallways, stairwells, gardens, the gym, lifts – you get the idea – are all considered common property. In a nutshell, you can exercise only your individual rights in your apartment, and that’s only if the changes you want to make adhere to the by-laws in the strata report and don’t affect your neighbours or the building as a whole.

Dispute resolution

If you’ve bought an apartment and it’s riddled with defects – structural or otherwise – and the builder of the complex doesn’t fix them or you have any other disputes related to strata, you should head to your state’s governmental division for advice: NSW, VIC, QLD, TAS, ACT, NT. South Australia and Western Australia don’t have government bodies to mediate at this level, but you should use the South Australian Magistrates Court and the Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal as a last resort. For more complex issues, you’ll need to go through your state’s relevant tribunal: NCAT for NSW, VCAT for Victoria, QCAT for Queensland, Land, Property & Titles Office for Tasmania, ACAT for the ACT and the Community Justice Centre for the Northern Territory.

It would also not go astray to make yourself familiar with understanding the defects and the timeframe that you have to make a complaint, as it can differ for each defect.

Renters’ rights

Although each state has its own tribunal and regulations, one thing is common: owners must keep their property in a reasonable state of repair for their renters. If there is a leak in the roof or something breaks down, renters need to contact the owner to get this fixed: unless the owner gives the renter permission, or proxy, the renter can’t make any changes within the apartment. Renters should always check their rental agreement in the case of emergencies and urgent repairs, as this will tell them how to proceed.

Strata title is by no means a cut-and-dried issue, but by understanding your rights and those of your tenant, you can better tackle any conflicts that pop up in your path.