Strata Complaints: Who Really Holds the Responsibility?

As a Licensee and owner, I’m often the person who receives complaints when owners want to escalate an issue within their strata scheme. Increasingly, I’m seeing the same themes: delays in maintenance and works, insufficient funds to carry out necessary repairs, and frustration caused by owners or strata councils who are slow to respond or engage.

For a Strata Manager, getting works completed efficiently is far easier when there are adequate funds available in the scheme’s account. That funding is not something the Strata Manager simply decides upon. It is largely the result of planning and decisions made by owners at Annual General Meeting and the strata council.

One of the biggest challenges we are seeing is resistance to levy increases. Nobody likes paying more, but keeping levies artificially low can come at a much greater cost. Deferring necessary expenditure may mean maintenance is delayed, assets deteriorate further, and future owners are left facing significantly larger costs. In some cases, the short-term desire to keep levies down ultimately compromises the long-term viability of the scheme.

There is another issue that is just as important: owner engagement.

Owners have a significant role in the way their scheme operates. They decide on levies, they vote on many important matters, and they determine what works are undertaken in accordance with the applicable strata legislation. Yet there can be a misconception that the Strata Manager is the person who makes these decisions.

The Strata Manager’s role is to advise, administer, coordinate and implement decisions made by the owners and council within the authority given to them. We can provide recommendations, obtain quotations, manage contractors, communicate with owners and help identify future maintenance requirements. But we cannot manufacture funds that aren't there, force owners to approve additional expenditure, or make decisions that legally belong to the owners or council.

Ultimately, a successful strata scheme requires shared responsibility.

Owners need to participate, attend meetings, vote on important issues and, where possible, consider putting their hand up for council. They also need to understand that maintaining a property costs money. Adequate levies and forward planning are not simply additional expenses — they are part of protecting the investment everyone has in the scheme.

So when a complaint is escalated to the Licensee about delayed works or insufficient maintenance, one of the first questions I ask is: Are the funds available? Was the decision made? Did the owners engage?

Sometimes the answer points back to strata management. But increasingly, the bigger issue is not what the Strata Manager has or hasn't done — it is whether the scheme itself has the funds, decisions and owner participation needed to move forward.

Good strata management is a partnership and that’s why at Empire we have a no lock in contract. The Strata Manager can help guide the process, but the owners ultimately have an important role in determining the direction and financial health of their own scheme. 

In all good partnerships, we have spent the last 6 months giving many of the schemes who do not prioritise the above, notice to find a new Strata Manager… sorry but these schemes are hard work, it’s a fight to get funds in the bank, it’s a fight to get quotes and works approved and due to all this the owners are fragmented, demanding and dis

Do you attend the Annual General Meeting? Are you engaged and active in one of your most valuable assets?