If it is your first time living in an Owners Corporation, there may be terms you will come across that are unfamiliar.
The team at SSKB have put together some helpful to know technical terms that are associated with running an effective and efficient Owners Corporation.
Annual Fees
Annual fees cover general administration, maintenance, insurance and other ongoing costs. Lot owners pay their share of annual fees according to their lot liability.
Chairperson
The Chairperson is one of the executive members and is responsible for chairing meetings of the Committee and Owners Corporation.
Committee
The Owners Corporation Committee is responsible for making decisions on behalf of the Owners Corporation and putting lawful decisions of the Owners Corporation into effect.
Common Property
Common property is what it is stated to be on the plan of subdivision and may include gardens, passages, walls, stairwells, pathways, driveways, lifts, foyers and fences. The Owners Corporation is responsible for the common property – the Owners Corporations Act 2006 states that the Owners Corporation must, among other things, manage, administer, repair and maintain the common property.
Maintenance Fund
An Owners Corporations maintenance fund is effectively a deposit which exists to allow an Owners Corporation to pay for repairs and maintenance of a building, in accordance with the scheme’s maintenance plan.
Owners Corporation
The Owners Corporation is made up of all owners in a scheme.
Owners Corporation Manager
The role of an Owners Corporation Manager is to support strata communities to meet the legislative and administrative obligations of running an Owners Corporation.
The specific duties performed may change from community to community dependent on its size, complexity and the involvement of the Owners Corporation Committee. That role is explained in the management agreement. A Strata Manager can only take instructions from the Committee.
Owners Corporation Rules
Owners Corporation rules are the rules that all owners have agreed to abide by. The rules are voted on by all owners. The rules can only be changed by Special Resolution, being 75% of all owners in favour of a change motion and then lodged with Land Victoria and accompanied by payment of the correct fee.
Secretary
The Secretary has various duties in their role as a member of the executive committee, and one of these is calling Committee and General Meetings. The Secretary must advise owners of any upcoming General Meetings and Committee Members of Committee Meetings by ensuring Meeting notices are distributed, however, this is a function generally completed by your Owners Corporation Manager on behalf of the Secretary.
Special Fees
Special fees cover extraordinary or unexpected expenditure (such as urgent repairs). If the amount of the proposed special fee is more than double the amount of the Owners Corporations annual fees, it must be approved by special resolution. For the special resolution to be passed, it required support from at least 75 per cent of all lot owners.
We know being new to an Owners Corporation can often be a little daunting. SSKB aim to educate all of our clients on all areas of strata living.
If you are not a client of SSKB and would like to see how easy it is to make the switch, click here.
