At a Glance
- Strata is a form of property ownership where you own your individual lot, such as an apartment or townhouse, and share ownership of common property with the other owners in your building.
- Every strata property belongs to a strata scheme, run collectively by its owners through an owners corporation, usually with help from an elected committee and a professional strata manager.
- Owners pay strata levies into two funds: an administrative fund for day-to-day running costs and a capital works fund for long-term maintenance.
- Strata title was invented in NSW in 1961, and NSW Fair Trading now counts more than 84,000 strata schemes across the state.
- Before buying into strata, it’s worth reviewing the scheme’s Section 184 certificate, a pre-purchase strata report and the by-laws.
If you’ve just bought your first apartment or townhouse, or you’re thinking about it, you’ve probably come across the word “strata” more in the past month than in your entire life before. It turns up in contracts, listings, levy notices and conversations with agents, usually without anyone stopping to explain it.
This guide does the explaining, starting from the beginning: what strata actually means, how it works day to day, and what it means for you as an owner.
What “Strata” Actually Means
Strata is a form of property ownership where you own your individual lot, such as an apartment, townhouse or villa, and share ownership of common property with the other owners. Common property includes things like gardens, driveways, stairwells and the building’s structure. Every strata property in NSW belongs to a strata scheme, which the owners run collectively.
It’s an Australian invention, and a local one at that. Strata title was created in NSW in 1961 so people could formally own individual apartments rather than shares in a company that owned the building. The model worked so well it spread around the world. Today, NSW Fair Trading counts more than 84,000 strata schemes across the state, home to more than 1.2 million people.
The key idea is the split between your lot and common property. Your lot is broadly the space you live in. In an apartment, that generally means the interior of your unit. Common property is everything shared: external walls, the roof, foundations, hallways, lifts, gardens and driveways. As a general rule, what’s inside your lot is yours to look after, and what’s shared is looked after collectively. The exact boundary can vary from scheme to scheme, and the strata plan for your building is what settles it.
How a Strata Scheme Works
When you buy into a strata scheme, you automatically become a member of its owners corporation, the legal entity made up of every lot owner in the building. There’s no application and no opting out. It comes with the title.
Each lot in the scheme carries a unit entitlement, a number that reflects the lot’s share of the whole scheme. Your unit entitlement determines two things: your share of the scheme’s costs, and the weight of your vote when owners make decisions together. A larger apartment typically carries a higher entitlement than a smaller one, so it contributes more and its vote counts for more in certain decisions.
Owning in strata doesn’t change what you can do with your own lot in the ways that matter most. You can live in it, rent it out or sell it as you choose. What changes is that the building around your lot is a shared responsibility, which brings both obligations and genuine advantages, because you’re never carrying a major repair or an insurance premium alone.
Who’s Who in Strata
Three groups keep a strata scheme running, and it helps to know which is which.
The owners corporation
Every owner, collectively. The owners corporation is legally responsible for the scheme: maintaining common property, insuring the building, keeping records and managing its finances. Big decisions are made by vote at general meetings, including the annual general meeting (AGM) every owner is invited to.
The strata committee
Because it isn’t practical to call a meeting of every owner for every decision, owners elect a strata committee, a small group of owners who handle the scheme’s day-to-day decisions between general meetings. Committee members are volunteers, elected each year at the AGM.
The strata manager
Most schemes also appoint a professional strata manager to do the administrative heavy lifting: issuing levy notices, keeping the books, arranging insurance, coordinating repairs and keeping the scheme on the right side of its legal obligations. If you’re wondering exactly what a strata manager does day to day, we’ve written a full guide. The short version: the committee decides, and the manager makes it happen.
What You’ll Pay: Strata Levies in Brief
Running a shared building costs money, and that money comes from owners in the form of strata levies. Levies flow into two funds. The administrative fund covers day-to-day expenses like insurance, cleaning and gardening. The capital works fund saves for big-ticket items like painting and roof repairs.
Levies aren’t set by the strata manager or anyone outside the building. Owners approve the budget and the levies at each AGM. If you’d like to see exactly where the money goes, our guide to understanding strata levies breaks a typical levy down line by line.
Living with By-Laws
Every scheme has a set of by-laws, the rules that make shared living work. They typically cover things like pets, renovations, noise, parking and the use of common areas, and they vary from building to building. One scheme might welcome pets with minimal fuss, while another might require approval first.
By-laws sound more intimidating than they are. Most exist for practical reasons, and most owners never have an issue with them. They’re also not fixed forever. Owners can change their scheme’s by-laws by vote at a general meeting, which is how buildings adapt as their communities change. It’s still worth reading yours early, ideally before you buy. Our guide to strata by-laws explains how they work and how they can be changed.
Strata Title vs Other Property Types
If you’ve only ever owned (or rented) a freestanding house, the main contrast is with Torrens title. With Torrens title, you own the land and everything on it outright. There’s no shared property, no levies and no owners corporation. You also carry every cost and decision alone.
With strata title, you own your lot and share the rest. You contribute to shared costs through levies, and you share decisions with your neighbours. That means less individual control, but also shared responsibility when the roof needs replacing.
You may also come across community title, a related model used for estates where homes share facilities like private roads or parkland while each owner holds their own land.
Neither model is better; they suit different properties and different lives. What matters is knowing which one you’re buying into.
Buying Into Strata? What to Check First
A strata property comes with a financial and legal history, and you can read it before you commit.
A Section 184 certificate is an official statement from the owners corporation covering the levies for the lot, the health of the scheme’s funds and other key details. A pre-purchase strata report goes deeper, drawing on the scheme’s records to show its maintenance history, finances and any disputes. And the by-laws will tell you whether the building suits how you want to live, which is especially worth checking if you have a pet or renovation plans.
If you want one more window into a building, ask for recent AGM minutes. They show you how the scheme actually runs: what’s being discussed, what’s being deferred, and whether the community makes decisions or circles them.
None of this needs to be daunting. It’s simply due diligence, and it’s how buyers avoid surprises.
Talk to Jamesons
Whether you’re new to strata or considering buying, our team is here to help you navigate the process with confidence.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is strata in simple terms?
What is strata in simple terms?
Strata is a way of owning property where you own your individual home, like an apartment or townhouse, and share ownership of everything communal, such as gardens, hallways and the building structure, with the other owners. Together, the owners run the building and share its costs.
What do I actually own in a strata scheme?
What do I actually own in a strata scheme?
You own your lot, which is broadly the interior space of your apartment or townhouse. Everything shared, including external walls, the roof, stairwells, gardens and driveways, is common property, owned collectively by all owners. The precise boundary between lot and common property is set out in your scheme’s strata plan.
What is the difference between strata title and Torrens title?
What is the difference between strata title and Torrens title?
With Torrens title, you own the land and building outright and carry every cost and decision alone, which is typical of freestanding houses. With strata title, you own your lot and share ownership of common property, contributing to shared costs through levies and sharing decisions with the other owners.
Do all strata schemes have a strata manager?
Do all strata schemes have a strata manager?
No. A small number of schemes self-manage, with owners handling the administration themselves. Most schemes appoint a professional strata manager to handle finances, records, insurance, maintenance coordination and compliance, because the workload and legal obligations add up quickly, particularly in larger buildings.
What are strata levies?
What are strata levies?
Strata levies are the regular contributions every owner pays to fund their building’s running costs. They flow into two funds: an administrative fund for day-to-day expenses like insurance and cleaning, and a capital works fund that saves for long-term maintenance such as painting and roof replacement. Owners approve levies at each AGM.
