Strata Title Management

Strata title is a form of ownership referring to multi-level apartment blocks and horizontal subdivisions with shared parts. The ‘strata’ part of the term refers to apartments being on different levels, or strata – so you might have a shared gymnasium underground beneath a communal garden, with individual owners apartments above and a shared swimming pool on the roof, all part of the same complex.

Strata title allows individual ownership of part of a property, usually an apartment or townhouse, combined with shared ownership in the remainder (foyers, driveways, gardens) through a legal entity called the owners corporation or body corporate, depending on your state or territory and the type of scheme. Strata management, sometimes known as “body corporate management” is a specialist area of property management that looks after strata title developments and draws all the strands of ownership and daily use of common property areas together.

The concept of strata title is an Australian one and it first came into being in 1961. The development of larger and more complex strata developments has brought the management challenges of operational complexity, rising costs, aging infrastructure, owner engagement, tenant responsibilities, and the need for appropriate support services. Although there were other forms of title providing for co-ownership before the introduction of strata title, these forms of land title did not confer separate ownership on individual occupants.

Strata title management is trickier than regular property management because there are many common areas to oversee and many different points of view among the owners and occupiers of the owners corporation. It’s a job that requires skill and tact and a firm knowledge of how strata title works.