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Owners Corporation

Who are the Owners Corporation and what are their responsibilities?

The owners corporation (once known as the body corporate) is the body made up of all the owners in the strata scheme. Section 8 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 defines the constitution of The Owners Corporation as:

“The owners of the lots from time to time in a strata scheme constitute a body corporate under the name ‘The Owners – Strata Plan No X’ (X being the registered number of the strata plan to which that strata scheme relates).”

The owners corporation have numerous responsibilities – principally to control, manage and administer the common property, subject to the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. The NSW Office of Fair Trading has a fact sheet which provides some additional information, alternatively contact Stratamark.

Common Property and the Lot – What is the Owners Corporations responsibility and what is the Lot Owners responsibility?

Common property is jointly owned by the the owners corporation.  The common property boundaries are outlined in the the strata plan.  The boundary between common property and the lot are generally formed by:

  1. the upper surface of the floor (excluding carpet)
  2. the under surface of the ceiling
  3. the external or boundary walls

The lot owner owns and is responsible to maintain the inside of the unit, including internal walls, internal doors, floor coverings (carpets) and fixtures such as baths, toilet bowls, kitchen cupboards.  However the owners corporation is responsible for insuring the buildings fixtures and fittings, which includes some of these.  See our insurance page for more details.

The NSW Office of Fair Trading has a fact sheet which provides some additional information, alternatively contact Stratamark.

Meetings of the Owners Corporation

There are two types of owners corporation meetings:

  1. Annual General Meeting (AGM)
    Held once in each financial year of the corporation.
  2. Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)
    Held when and if necessary during the year, there are no requirements to hold these meetings

Some people aren’t aware that motions cannot be added to the agenda during a meeting and that only motions listed on the agenda can be considered. An owner or their proxy, if financial, may write to the secretary (usually the strata manager) requesting a motion be added to the agenda before it is sent.

An owner or their proxy, if financial, may make a request to the chairperson during a meeting to amend any motion. Note that the amendment must be in keeping with the original.

For more information regarding the owners corporation, requirements of an Annual General Meeting or how to convene an Extraordinary General Meeting contact Stratamark, alternatively you can refer to the the NSW Fair Trading – Strata Living Handbook (May 2015).

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Stratamark manages strata properties throughout Sydney in these areas;

Alexandria, Annandale, Barangaroo, Beaconsfield, Broadway, Camperdown, Chippendale, Darlinghurst, Darlington, Darling Harbour, Dawes Point, Elizabeth Bay, Eveleigh, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Glebe Point, Golden Grove, Green Square, Haymarket, Kings Cross, Millers Point, Moore Park, Potts Point, Pyrmont, Redfern, Rosebery, Rushcutters Bay, Strawberry Hills, Surry Hills, Sydney, The Rocks, Ultimo, Victoria Park, Waterloo, Woolloomooloo, Zetland.

Alexandria, Banksmeadow, Beaconsfield, Bellevue Hill, Ben Buckler, Bondi, Bondi Beach, Bondi Junction, Bronte, Botany, Camp Cove, Centennial Park, Charing Cross, Chifley, Clovelly, Coogee, Darling Point, Darlinghurst, Double Bay, Dover Heights, Eastgardens, Eastlakes, Edgecliff, Elizabeth Bay, Eveleigh, Green Square, Hillsdale, Kensington, Kings Cross, Kingsford, La Perouse, Little Bay, Malabar, Maroubra, Maroubra Junction, Mascot, Matraville, Moore Park, North Bondi, Paddington, Pagewood, Phillip Bay, Point Piper, Port Botany, Potts Point, Queens Park, Randwick, Redfern, Rose Bay, Rose Bay North, Rosebery, Rushcutters Bay, St Pauls, Strawberry Hills, South Coogee, Surry Hills, Sydney, Tamarama, Watsons Bay, Vaucluse, Waterloo, Waverley, Woollahra, Woolloomooloo, Zetland.

Artarmon, Balmoral, Beauty Point, Cammeray, Castle Cove, Castlecrag, Chatswood, Chatswood West, Clifton Gardens, Cremorne, Cremorne Point, Crows Nest, Denistone East, East Ryde, Eastwood, Georges Heights, Gladesville, Greenwich, Henley, Hunters Hill, Huntleys Cove, Huntleys Point, Kirribilli, Lane Cove, Lane Cove North, Lane Cove West, Lavender Bay, Lindfield, Linley Point, Longueville, Macquarie Park, Marsfield, McMahons Point, Middle Cove, Milsons Point, Mosman, Naremburn, Neutral Bay, North Sydney, Northbridge, North Ryde, Northwood, Osborne Park, Putney, Riverview, Roseville, Roseville Chase, Ryde, Spit Junction, St Leonards, Tennyson Point, The Spit, Waverton, Willoughby, Willoughby East, North Willoughby, West Ryde, Wollstonecraft, Woolwich.

Abbotsford, Alexandria, Annandale, Ashbury, Ashfield, Balmain, Balmain East, Beaconsfield, Birchgrove, Breakfast Point, Broadway, Burwood, Burwood Heights, Camperdown, Campsie, Canada Bay, Canterbury, Cabarita, Chippendale, Chiswick, Concord, Concord West, Croydon, Croydon Park, Darlington, Drummoyne, Dulwich Hill, Earlwood, Enfield, Enmore, Erskineville, Eveleigh, Five Dock, Forest Lodge, Glebe, Glebe Point, Green Square, Haberfield, Haymarket, Homebush, Homebush West, Hurlstone Park, Leichhardt, Lewisham, Liberty Grove, Lilyfield, Marrickville, Moore Park, Mortlake, Newtown, North Strathfield, Petersham, Pyrmont, Redfern, Rhodes, Rodd Point, Rosebery, Rozelle, Russell Lea, St Peters, Summer Hill, Stanmore, Strathfield, Strathfield South, Sydenham, Tempe, Ultimo, Undercliffe, Wareemba, Waterloo, Zetland.

Arncliffe, Banksia, Bardwell Park, Bardwell Valley, Bexley, Bexley North, Brighton-Le-Sands, Carlton, Dolls Point, Kingsgrove, Kogarah, Kyeemagh, Monterey, Ramsgate, Ramsgate Beach, Rockdale, Sandringham, Sans Souci, Turrella, Wolli Creek.

Contact Stratamark

Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.

Further information concerning the Strata Community Association (NSW) Professional Standards Legislation can be found here.