What Does a Strata Council Do?
Before buying a unit for yourself in a strata, you need to stay aware of the fact that everything regarding the strata's management and policies is looked after by a strata corporation which is established specifically to do all of this work. To help you out in understanding the role of a strata corporation in a strata, we have listed the most common duties of a Strata Corporation below which will more than definitely assist you in knowing your strata corporation much better.
Controls and Looks After the Common Property
The main role of the strata corporation is to look after the common property. For this, the corporation acts as a governing body that must take care of all issues and problems and deal with any developing nuisances effectively. Simply put, if you happen to find out that there’s something wrong within the strata's premises, you can report it to the corporation and have them take care of the matter.
Insures the Buildings
It is highly recommended that you opt for a strata which features insured buildings. Speaking of which, insuring the strata's buildings is also one of the major jobs of the strata corporation. This includes taking care of the replacement cost as well as making regular payments of premiums.
Keeps the Common Property Held
Some sort of neutral body needs to keep the common property held and do this in trust for the owners of all the units. As such, the strata corporation also takes over this role and makes sure it keeps hold of the common property in trust for the unit owners.
Owns a Bank Account Dedicated to the Strata
A strata needs to run properly and it must have a bank account which is maintained and kept safe for the funds of maintenance. Of course, these funds are all contributed by the unit owners for the welfare of their community. The strata corporation plays a leading role in this regard, as well as it collects the maintenance fund contributions given by the owners of all the units and keeps them all safe in a bank account. This bank account is entirely dedicated to the strata's maintenance, and the funds inside it are only used in case any maintenance problem arises. The corporation cannot and must not utilize these funds for their own usage. Furthermore, the strata corporation cannot undertake business for profit by using the maintenance fund contributions provided by the unit owners.
The Strata Corporation cannot, in any way, be a profit based business as it is solely present to deal with any developing problems and underlying issues in the strata scheme among a few other tasks. Studying the above mentioned rules of conduct of a strata corporation and understanding them will help you realize the extent to which you can question your strata's association in case you notice them doing something out of the ordinary.
