Quite simply, an Owners Corporation manages all dealings of the common property of a residential, commercial, retail, industrial or mixed-use plan of subdivision.

When a plan of subdivision is registered with Land Victoria an Owners Corporation is created. The person that owns the Lot within a Plan of Subdivision becomes a member of the Owners Corporation.

An Owners Corporation Committee is a group of between three (3) and seven (7) members (or up to 12 if resolved by Ordinary Resolution) who are appointed each year at the Annual General Meeting.

The Committee governs management of the Owners Corporation until a new Committee is appointed at the next Annual General Meeting. In most cases, the Owners Corporation delegates powers to the Committee of Management to make decisions about the building’s day-to-day operations.

An Owners Corporation with ten or more Lots must elect a committee at each Annual General Meeting. The Knight recommends a Committee of Management be appointed regardless of the size of the Owners Corporation, and that the maximum number of Committee members be limited to seven.

In larger properties, the Owners Corporation may choose to employ a Building Manager to assist with the building’s day-to-day operations. The Building Manager communicates with the Committee and Owners Corporation Manager to report all issues they encounter during their daily activities.

The role of an Owners Corporation Manager is to ensure that the Owners Corporation operates effectively and meets all legislative requirements. A professional and experienced Manager should be appointed to this role. The Manager is responsible for the Owners Corporation’s operations. This includes regularly communicating with the Committee, providing advice and direction, and completing various tasks. If a Committee is involved, it is critical for the Manager to work closely with its members, in order to properly understand how the Committee wants the Owners Corporation managed.

Common Property is marked on the Plan of Subdivision and comprises all land on the plan that is not a private lot, owned by an individual. The Owners Corporation owns all common property on the Plan of Subdivision

Examples of common property include driveways, lifts, hallways, stairwells and garden areas. Depending on the building, common property can also include building amenities such as swimming pools, gyms and entertainment areas, or exterior walls, the roof and the airspace above the property.

If you are unsure what the common property within your building includes, you can ask your committee for a copy of the Plan of Subdivision for your address.

The management and conduct of Owners Corporations is essentially governed by the Owners Corporations Act 2006, Subdivision Act 1988, associated Regulations 2007, Model Rules, Standard Rules and other Rules (as determined by each Owners Corporation).

All Owners Corporations have rules for the purpose of controlling, administering, managing, using and/or enjoying common property and Lots. If an Owners Corporation doesn’t make its own rules, a set of model rules outlined in the Owners Corporations Regulations 2007 will apply.

Whilst an owner will receive the rules at the time of the purchase of a Lot, by law, each and every tenant must receive a copy of the rules at the time they move in. Owners Corporations collectively and owners individually can apply to VCAT to enforce rules and the tribunal can impose penalties for breaches of rules (refer to Part 10 and 11 of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 respectively).

According to the Owners Corporations Act 2006 an Annual General Meeting for all Lot owners is held. The owner receives written confirmation regarding the upcoming meeting with a notice of 14 days. This open forum gives the opportunity for Lot owners to bring forward matters regarding the common property, discuss financial matters and most importantly to elect the committee. With a 14-day period Annual General Meeting minutes are sent to all Lot owners.

We actively seek to resolve any complaints and disputes however in the instance where there are pending issues, they must be presented to the Owners Corporation in writing.

According to The Owners Corporations Act 2006 the Owners Corporation must have an internal dispute resolution process to handle complaints about breaches of the Rules, Act and/or Regulations. This must be sited prior to the Owners Corporation making an application to VCAT in the event the complaint cannot be resolved.

As an individual and as a member of the Owners Corporation you have the right to make an application directly to VCAT. VCAT has the authority to impose penalties for breaches of rules and make a wide range of other orders.

A building requires regular upkeep and long-term commitment, which optimises your asset. Maintenance plans have several benefits including reducing the likelihood of having to raise special levies to cover major works, equalizing maintenance contributions between new and old owners and well-funded Owners Corporations that plan for the future are more attractive to potential purchasers.

An Owners Corporation maintenance plan covers a number of items, which include:

• Major capital items for repairs and/or replacement over the next 10 years
• The present condition of those items
• When the items or components will need to be repaired or replaced
• The estimated cost of their repair and replacement
• The expected life of those items or components once repaired or replaced.

An OC with more than 50 lots must prepare and approve a maintenance plan. OCs under 51 lots do not have to prepare a maintenance plan but may do so.

We highly recommend that all Owners Corporations have a maintenance plan that identifies maintenance requirements.

As a Lot owner in an Owners Corporation arrangement, you are obliged to properly maintain any part of the Lot that affects the outward appearance of the Lot. If the Lot owner fails to carry out their obligations, then the Owners Corporation has the power to serve a notice requiring the Lot owner to attend to specific works within 28 days.

If the requested repairs are not carried out within 28 days, the Owners Corporation may carry out the necessary repairs, maintenance or other works to the owner’s Lot and recover the costs of the works from the Owner.

It’s common practice for some buildings that have a mix of homes, shops and commercial use to have several Owners Corporations to address responsibilities. To better address the increase of properties requiring multiple Owners Corporations every owner is represented in an unlimited Owners Corporations and at least one limited Owners Corporation.

An Owners Corporation Certificate must be attached to the Section 32 statement of the contract of sale. All Owners Corporations in Victoria are required to prepare and supply a certificate within ten business days to anyone who applies in writing and pays the relevant fee for the requested certificate. The Owners Corporation Certificate must include specific information and have relevant documents attached.

Levies are a critical part of ensuring you protect the value of your property. The Levies must be determined and administered by the Owners Corporation with the levy notices being issued on a regular basis. There are 4 types of Levies:

• Annual Operating Levy
• Maintenance Plan Levy
• Capital Project Levy
• Special Levy

To view your account information please login into the My Property portal.

As a Lot owner you are permitted to renovate and refurbish your property accordingly. The Knight has the expertise to offer knowledgeable advice regarding any proposed property works that may be planned. It is essential that the Owners Corporation is notified prior to works commencing to ensure that no Rules are breached as there is the possibility of legal consequences.

Insurance exists to protect your asset and to reduce your financial exposure and as it is a requirement that all Owners Corporations take out reinstatement and replacement insurance for all buildings and fixtures on the common property and Lots where the building is located above or below common property, a reserve or a Lot.

All Lot owners are covered by the Owner’s Corporation’s insurance policy however where an insurance policy has an excess the claimant is liable to pay for that excess when making a claim. The advice offered by The Knight is of a general nature only and we encourage all Owners Corporation Members to seek their own insurance advice.

For all after hours common property maintenance emergencies, a recorded message on our office number 03 9509 3144 will provide you with the contact details of the after-hours contact.

Please only follow the after-hours instructions if your matter is related to common property (see ‘What is Common Property?’)

If a contractor attends to your call and it is not deemed as a common property matter, there will be a small charge for administering the phone call, if the contractor attends your building and it is not deemed as a common property matter the call out fee will be charged to your Lot Owner.

If your building has a Building Manager, please contact them first in instance of a maintenance emergency.