What is the Owners Corporation?

The owners corporation (aka Body corporate) is the body made up by all the owners in the strata scheme. The owners corporation has an executive committee which can make many of the decisions on its behalf.

The owners corporation is the body made up of all the owners in the strata scheme. It has the responsibility for:

• maintaining and repairing the common property of the strata scheme
• managing the finances of the strata scheme
• taking out insurance for the strata scheme
• keeping records and accounts for the strata scheme
• administering the by–laws for the strata scheme.

Each lot owner is part of the owners corporation and has a right to participate in the corporation’s decision making. The owners corporation comes into existence immediately a strata plan is registered with the Land and Property Management Authority NSW (formerly called the Department of Lands).

At first it may only be made up of the original owner (usually the developer) but as individuals buy into the scheme, the owners corporation gains more members. The owners corporation has an executive committee which can make many of the necessary decisions on its behalf. The executive committee can have no more than nine members. It has a chairperson, secretary and treasurer. An owners corporation may also employ a strata managing agent and/or caretaker to carry out some or all of their functions.

The period from when the strata plan is registered with the Land and Property Management Authority NSW up to when one third of the total unit entitlements have been sold is called the initial period. There are restrictions on what the owners corporation can do during the initial period however, the original owner, the owners corporation and/or an owner may make an application to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal to waive, vary or extinguish a restriction.