Who’s who in strata
Understand the roles of the owners corporation and strata committee, strata manager and building manager.
Key information
- If you own property in the strata complex (scheme), you are part of its owners corporation.
At each annual general meeting, the owners corporation will elect people to sit on the strata committee, which can make smaller, day-to-day decisions for them.
A strata manager, building manager or both, can be hired to help run the scheme.
Did you know?
Owners corporation
The owners corporation (previously called a ‘body corporate’) is made up of all the owners in a strata scheme.
When you buy a property in a strata scheme, you automatically become part of the owners corporation. If you sell the property you own, you are no longer part of the owners corporation.
What decisions need owners corporation approval?
The owners corporation makes decisions and manages the overall scheme. This includes:
- finances
- insurance
- record keeping and executing documents
- repairing and maintaining common property
- by-laws
- strata meetings
- hiring a strata manager
- hiring a building manager
- following all laws about planning, building, safety, and workers.
There are laws and processes to follow for each of these jobs.
A strata committee or strata manager can also help with some of these jobs.
Strata committee
What is a strata committee?
A strata committee (previously called an ‘executive committee’) is a group of people that the owners corporation elects to help it make decisions for the scheme.
What decisions can the strata committee make?
A strata committee helps the owners corporation make decisions about the strata scheme.
The owners corporation chooses exactly what the strata committee can decide on. The owners corporation can also overrule any decisions the strata committee makes.
A strata committee can be helped in these jobs by a strata manager.
Most schemes give their strata committee the power make decisions for things like:
- spending for the day-to-day running of the scheme (e.g. hiring repairers, arranging insurance)
- approving applications under a by-law of the scheme (e.g. approving renovation applications)
- issuing a notice to comply with a by-law
- making a decision on a payment plan request or a request to waive interest.
The following decisions cannot be made by the strata committee:
- a decision that requires a unanimous resolution of the owners corporation
- a decision that requires a special resolution of the owners corporation
- a decision that must be made at a general meeting of the owners corporation, or
- a decision on a matter that the owners corporation has determined must be made only by the owners corporation at a general meeting.
Who makes up a strata committee?
The owners corporation elects the strata committee at each annual general meeting (AGM).
There can be one to nine people on the committee. The owners corporation decides the total number, which cannot be more than nine.
If you live in a two-lot scheme, the strata committee must have at least two members (one from each property). If you live in a scheme with more than 100 properties, the strata committee must have at least three members.
Who can join a strata committee?
Owners can nominate one person for election for each property they own in the scheme.
You can nominate yourself, another owner or someone who doesn’t own a property. This might be a tenant or the tenant representative.
You cannot join or be nominated for the strata committee if you owe money to the scheme at the time of the AGM, or if you are:
- the building manager
- an agent who leases any property in the strata scheme to tenants, or
- someone connected to the original owner (developer) or building manager of the scheme, unless you disclose this in writing before election
unless you also own a lot within the strata scheme.
What are the obligations of a strata committee member?
Each member of the strata committee has a duty to comply with strata laws.
When doing the work of the strata committee, strata committee members must act:
- honestly and fairly, and with due care and diligence
- for the benefit of all owners.
Strata committee members may also receive certain information through their role. This information can only be used or disclosed:
- to carry out committee work, or
- for another reason allowed under the law.
Members must also behave in a way that does not unreasonably affect a person’s lawful use or enjoyment their unit or individual property (their ‘lot’) or the common property.
Office-bearer jobs
Strata committee members must also choose one or more people for the ‘office bearer’ jobs:
Chairperson: runs meetings, checks there is a ‘quorum’ for the meeting (enough people for a meeting to start), declares the result of a vote on a motion, follows the agenda to guide owners through the meeting, maintains order at meetings and encourages owners to discuss items on the agenda in a fair, constructive and open manner.
Secretary: arranges meetings, prepares and gives out meeting agendas and minutes, updates the strata roll, issues notices, and does other administration including correspondence
Treasurer: keeps accounting records and issues levy notices
It’s best to have a person on the strata committee who knows how to manage finances.
You should think about this when voting for strata committee members.
In schemes where at least half of the properties are lived in by tenants, the tenants can nominate a tenant representative. They will become part of the strata committee.
The tenant representative can:
- get a copy of the agenda for all strata committee meetings
- attend and speak at strata committee meetings.
The tenant representative can’t vote at meetings and can be asked to leave when finances are discussed.
Removing the strata committee
A new strata committee is elected at each AGM. Previous strata committee members may stand for re-election.
The owners corporation can remove one or more members of the strata committee by a general resolution at a general meeting.
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) can also remove a strata committee or strata committee member, if they find that they:
- didn’t follow NSW strata laws
- didn’t exercise due care or diligence, or
- engaged in serious misconduct.
Replacing a strata committee member
If a member of the strata committee leaves their position or leaves the scheme, the committee can choose someone to fill their job. The new person must be eligible to be on the committee.
A person who has been removed from the committee by a general resolution is not eligible for appointment or election as a member of the committee for the period of 12 months commencing on the day the resolution is passed.
If a strata committee member can’t attend a meeting, they can choose another committee member or owner to go instead, if the strata committee agrees. This person is called an ‘acting’ member.
Strata managers
What does a strata manager do?
A strata manager (also known as a strata managing agent) helps the owners corporation and/or strata committee with the running of the strata scheme.
The owners corporation can choose which jobs to give to a strata manager. These jobs could include:
- co-ordinating and conducting meetings
- collecting and banking levies, and obtaining insurance
- advising on asset management
- keeping the scheme's financial records.
Strata managers have a duty to ensure that they perform the jobs the owners corporation has delegated to them.
What does a strata manager needs to report
A strata manager is required to record the jobs they do on behalf of the owners corporation. They must, every six months, give those records to the owners corporation. Examples of jobs that should be recorded include:
- convening or conducting a meeting
- giving notice and agenda of a meeting
- preparing and distributing meeting minutes
- enabling inspection of the strata records
- sending levy notices
- preparing a section 184 certificate
- Strata Hub reporting
- obtaining and renewing insurance
- making an insurance claim
- accounting for monies paid into and out of the administrative fund and capital works fund such as for repairs and maintenance
- issuing a notice to comply with a by-law.
Appointing a strata manager
Strata managers are appointed by the owners corporation at an annual general meeting.
For information visit appointing strata managers and other workers.
Do I need a strata manager?
No. There is no legal requirement for you to employ a professional strata manager. Most strata buildings (schemes) have one because the members on the strata committee are volunteers and strata managers help coordinate the affairs of lot owners.
Removing a strata manager
If you have an issue with a strata manager, you should talk to the owners corporation, who can take steps to remove them.
Owners corporations usually remove a strata manager if they feel the manager is not doing their job properly.
The owners corporation can:
- choose not to reappoint the strata manager at the end of their contract
- vote to remove the strata manager at the next general meeting, or
- apply to the Tribunal to remove the strata manager.
For information on how to remove a strata manager, visit appointing strata managers and other workers.
How to become a strata manager?
In NSW, you need a strata managing agent licence to oversee strata schemes. There are two licence classes, and training is required. Find out more about a strata managing agent licence.
Building managers
What does a building manager do?
Building managers look after the buildings in a strata scheme.
They can help the owners corporation with:
- managing common property (for example, taking out bins and recycling)
- access to common property, including for tradespersons and non-residents, and
- maintaining and repairing common property.
Building manager duties
Building managers have duties under the strata laws that regulate their conduct. Substantial penalties may apply where a duty is breached.
These duties are to:
Act in the owners corporation’s best interest (unless doing so would be against the law).
Act promptly and with due diligence to –
- bring the owners corporation’s attention to any maintenance, repair or safety issue with the common property that the manager is aware of. This includes both a problem that the building manager becomes aware of (e.g. a lift outage), as well as a problem that the building manager ought to be aware of (e.g. that the regular maintenance of the lift is overdue).
- propose to the owners corporation how a problem should be addressed. For example, recommending a plumber comes to repair a persistent leaking pipe.
Give written notice of benefits and connections when suggesting a contract
- If the building manager will receive a benefit in relation to a contract they are suggesting to the owners corporation, the written notice must include the person who will provide the benefit, and the monetary value of the benefit or the method of calculating the value.
- If the person the contract would be with is connected with the building manager, the written notice must include the nature of the relationship between the building manager and that person.
Disclose any relationships and financial interests
- A building manager must promptly give written notice to the owners corporation if the building manager:
- is connected with a supplier of goods or services for the strata scheme. The notice must include what goods and/or services are provided by the supplier, and the nature of their relationship to the building manager.
- is connected with the original owner of the strata scheme. The notice must include the nature of the relationship between the building manager and the original owner.
- has a direct or indirect financial interest in the strata scheme. The notice must include the nature of the financial interest.
Appointing a building manager
Building managers can be appointed at general meetings.
Before they are appointed, building managers must tell you if they:
- are connected with the original owner (developer)
- have any financial interest in the scheme
- may receive a benefit that affects the fees that they will charge under the building manager agreement. For example, this would include telling the owners corporation that they expect to receive a referral fee from the cleaning company they will nominate after they are appointed as building manager.
Learn more about appointing building managers
Removing a building manager
An owners corporation can remove a building manager by not reappointing them, terminating their agreement at a general meeting, or by applying to the Tribunal.
For information on how to do this, visit appointing strata managers and other workers.
Difference between a strata manager, building manager and property manager
A strata manager keeps everything running
A strata manager is delegated the most authority and unlike the others, they have the power to enforce by-laws and have access to owners corporation funds.
They are paid to keep everything in your strata running smoothly, and to help the owners corporation fulfil all their legal obligations, such as:
- co-ordinating AGMs and committee meetings
- preparing budgets and issuing levies to owners
- paying invoices and insurance.
A strata manager is often the primary contact for owners.
A building manager looks after common property
A building manager looks after the common property, such as:
- keeping lawns and gardens maintained
- doing minor repairs or organising them
- managing general safety around the complex, including fire safety, and sometimes doing condition reports.
A building manager is generally the primary contact for contractors working on-site.
A person is NOT a building manager if they:
- are engaged solely to do one or more repair or maintenance services for the common property such as a gardener, cleaner or roof repairer,
- they are limited to carrying out the repair or maintenance
- they do not manage or control common property, and
- they are not appointed as a building manager under a building manager agreement.
A property manager looks after landlords and tenants
A property manager manages the rental lease for a landlord, such as organising inspections, move outs, bonds and evictions.
If the tenant raises any strata related issues, the property manager will take these up with the strata manager or owner.
A tenant typically has no direct dealings with the strata manager, who only represents the owners.
Property managers are the primary contact for a tenant.
Need more help?
Contact Fair Trading
If you have any further questions about strata, you can contact Fair Trading via phone or in-person at a Service NSW centre.
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