Q: Can the council of owners change the strata manager?
A: Under Section 44 of the Act, the functions of the Strata Company are carried out by the council of owners therefore they can appoint a new strata manager. It is possible, however, that your current strata manager has a binding contract in place and therefore you are advised to check your current contract for its terms and obligations.
Q: What steps are involved in changing to The Strata Centre?
A: Once the council of owners have chosen to select our services the process is relatively simple.
The outgoing management company is advised of the new appointment of manager and a handover date is set by mutual agreement of the parties involved for collection of the records
The Strata Centre will then arrange a convenient time to collect your strata company’s property records from your previous manager.
Q: How are individual levy amounts decided?
A: Levies can only be raised in accordance with Unit Entitlements registered on the Strata Plan. The quantum of the levy is decided at the AGM taking into account maintenance costs and items of capital expenditure, as budgeted for in the financial year.
Q: Will I always deal with the same strata manager?
A: Yes, at the Strata Centre each Director is allocated a portfolio of properties that they deal with exclusively.
Q: How do you structure your fees?
A: We have a rate calculated according to the needs of each strata property, based on its size and the number of lots, together with common property maintenance and management requirements.
Q: Is the Strata Title industry regulated in Western Australia?
A: At present the Strata Title industry is not regulated in Western Australia.
Q: What is a Strata Company?
A: A strata company is created upon the registration of a strata plan at Landgate (the State Government land department). A strata company is made up of all the owners of the lots comprising the strata plan (also called the strata scheme). Each owner is a shareholder in the company (refer to The Strata Titles Act 1985, Section 32).
Q: What are the Strata Company’s obligations?
A: The strata company’s obligations are to manage/maintain the common property for the benefit of all owners and to hold such meetings as are required by the Strata Titles Act 1985. The strata company is also required to enforce the by-laws. The strata council carries out the duties and obligations of the strata company (refer to The Strata Titles Act 1985, Section 35).
Q: Are Strata Company funds audited?
A: There is no requirement under the Strata Titles Act 1985, however full financial reports are provided at the Annual General Meeting so in effect this is similar to an audit process. An auditor is however often employed in larger strata companies.
Q: How are individual levy amounts decided?
A: Unless there is a by-law to the contrary, the levies can only be raised in accordance with Unit Entitlement. Unit Entitlement is set by a Licensed Valuer and shows the relative proportion of each owner’s share in the scheme.
Q: Who decides how much my levies will be?
A: The owners determine what the levy amounts will be at a General Meeting and this is usually based on the strata company budget. This budget is decided based on what the owners estimate the running costs of the strata company will be for the coming financial year.
Q: What is a levy?
A: A levy is the contribution determined by owners at the AGM. All owners are required to pay to meet the expenses of maintaining and managing the Strata property.
There may also be a special levy or reserve fund levy payable for planned future works determined by all owners.