As the owner of a Strata Title unit you acquire separate legal title to your
unit and, depending on the way the strata scheme has been structured, the car
space, balcony, garden, terrace or storage area attaching to your unit. Your “property”
is generally limited by the inner skins of the outer walls and the ceiling and
floor of your unit. In effect if the building was destroyed you own the airspace
where your unit had been located. When you become entitled to own a strata title unit you also acquire a share
in and right to use the common property. The common property is the shared areas
of the building and the land surrounding the building, which areas that are not
part of any other lot in the strata scheme. Your rights to the common property are shared by all of the unit owners. Your
interest in the ownership of the common areas is in direct proportion to your
unit entitlement, which also determines the amount of levies you will need to
pay to the owners' corporation for the regular running, and maintenance and
upkeep costs of the strata scheme. The unit entitlement also represents your
voting rights at meetings of the owners' corporation. The very nature of a strata scheme means that you will be living closely with
a group of people, many of whom you have never met before, in a sort of
vertically-planned village. What you do with your unit and the common property
may impact on the other unit owners in the same way any other owner’s use may
impact on you. Therefore, a significant body of laws, rules and regulations have been made
under strata titles legislation to govern the conduct of unit owners in the
strata scheme, so any one owner's use does not impact in a harmful or
undesirable way on the other owners. These laws, rules and regulations also
attempt to resolve any disputes between the various owners. LOT OWNER – DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Where can you check to see if you are a registered owner of a lot in a strata
scheme? The fact that you are a registered owner of a lot in a strata scheme is
shown: At the LPI you can obtain copies of registered strata plans, certificates of
title for common property and individual lots and by-laws that have been made
and registered by owners' corporations. The strata plan will show the exact size
of each unit and the common property. You can also obtain information about the strata scheme or your lot from the
owners' corporation or the strata manager upon request by written application. Do you know your duties and responsibilities as a lot owner? As a lot owner you have numerous duties and responsibilities imposed on you
by certain Acts, regulations and by-laws. It is important that you are aware of
these duties and that you abide by them. Find-a-Lawyer experienced in
Property Law. DISCLAIMER This Information Outline is available courtesy of AussieLegal’s
online legal information and law firm referral service. The information is provided by participating law firms. Accordingly, neither
AussieLegal Pty Limited nor eBroadcast accepts any responsibility for loss,
damage, cost or expense arising from using the information provided. As the information provided by participating law firms is of a general
nature, the law firms accept no liability for any loss, damage, cost or expense
that arises from relying on the information provided by them. The information is
provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their
own assessment of it. This recognises that despite the participating law firm’s
best endeavours to provide up to date accurate legal information and documents,
you may misunderstand or misinterpret instructions or advice.