A strata scheme is a building or group of buildings that has been divided into 'lots' which may be individual apartments, office, industrial, commercial or retail units, townhouses or houses. When a person buys a lot, they also share ownership of common property with other lot owners. This may include shared gardens, external walls, roofs, driveways and stairwells.
Lot owners are members of the owners’ corporation, which owns and manages the common property. An owner’s corporation is automatically created when a strata plan is registered.
The Registrar General's Guidelines for Strata Schemes are a practical guide to help with preparing strata plans for registration with NSW LRS.
Interpreting strata plans
The registered strata plan defines the lot boundaries and can clarify what areas are common property. In order to determine whether an item is common property you must inspect a copy of the registered strata plan. Copies of the plan can be obtained through NSW LRS' approved information brokers.
What is a common property? acts as a guide to assist owners and owners’ corporations in interpreting the registered strata plan.
NSW Fair Trading refer to the Common Property Memorandum as a guide for determining whether an item is common property where the strata plan makes no mention of the item.
Strata managing agents or owners may utilise Who’s responsible? A guide to common property published by the Strata Community Association NSW as a guide for determining responsibility.
NSW Land Registry Services can provide information to customers to assist with interpreting strata plans, such as identifying lot boundaries and lot property, this does not constitute legal advice. To access this, customers can lodge an enquiry through the Contact Us form by including the strata plan number and details of their specific strata scheme query.
Pre 1974 plans
If the plan you are interpreting was prepared prior to 1 July 1974 careful consideration must be taken when interpreting the plan. Changes made in the Strata schemes (Freehold Development) Act 1973 included the relocation of some boundaries from the centreline of a structure (i.e. wall, floor or ceiling) to the face or faces of the structure. This means that any structure including a wall, floor or ceiling between separate parts of the same lot are lot property and not common property. For example, a wall between your unit and your balcony including any door or window within this wall is lot property.
In some circumstances the plan may show a note indicating that the boundary is the centre (or face) of a structure. In this case the boundary remains in that position and is not relocated as described above. . Please see additional information on interpreting Pre 1974 plans.
Strata scheme management issues and disputes: contact NSW Fair Trading
NSW Fair Trading provides information and assistance on the management and repair of strata properties, as well as dispute resolution under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. NSW Fair Trading also provides a mediation service for the resolution of strata disputes.
NSW Fair Trading outline general guidelines owners corporations can apply when determining who is responsible for repairs.
For more information, visit the NSW Fair Trading website or call 13 32 20 for enquiries about repairs and maintenance.
By-laws
All strata schemes have their own by-laws, which are rules regarding how the scheme operates, including use of common property, maintenance, renovations and the behaviour of owners, tenants and, in some cases, visitors. By-laws may cover:
- Renovation approvals and work requirements. This can include paint colours, types of flooring, heating and air conditioning, doors and windows.
- Strata executive committee maintenance and expenditure authorities
- Garbage collection rights and responsibilities.
- Security access, garage doors, intercom use and maintenance.
- Common parking areas and visitor parking.
- Restrictions on short term-letting and overcrowding.
- Safety issues including clear fire evacuation areas
- Moving and storage of goods including damage liability
- Use of common areas such as BBQ areas and pools, including access, times and conditions such as noise and use of alcohol and smoking
- Any restrictions on ownership of pets and access to common areas.
It is important to consider the by-laws when buying into, or renting in, a strata scheme as they govern how the strata scheme will function and your rights and responsibilities.
When a strata scheme is registered, the by-laws are recorded in the second schedule of the Folio of the Register for the Common Property, and after the scheme has commenced any recorded changes (amend, repeal, add or combine separately recorded changes of by-laws into a single consolidated list) to those by-laws. A copy of the common property title and the by-laws applying to a strata scheme can be purchased from NSW LRS approved information brokers.