So, Just What is the Body Corporate?

Some clarifications around my last post have been requested.

The body corporate is like an owners committee or condo committee. The owners of each unit in the building are collectively responsible for the common areas of the property, like the gardens, common laundry area, the common BBQ area and the outside of the buildings including drains, downpipes, windows and painting of the building.

This is a pretty common thing in Australia, especially in New South Wales, the state I live in. Each state has its own regulations controlling how the body corporate works and what they can and can not do. These regulations also spell out the rights and obligations of the unit owners.

In general, each owner is responsible for everything in their unit inside their property lines in the building. For example, I can get more powerpoints (electrical plugs) put in my unit or rip up the carpets and polish the floor boards without the need to get permission from the body corporate. Communal living issues, like parking, garbage, noise and pets, are handled by the body corporate.

Owners pay a strata fee quarterly to fund general property maintenance and improvements, insurance, water, council rates (taxes) and the like, with special levies for one-off special stuff like getting the outsides of the windows painted or replacing the rain gutters or putting in rainwater tanks. There are regular meetings of the body corporate (the unit owners) to decide on matters around the building or property or any communal living issues.

Fees and voting are on a pro rata basis, usually determined by the relative size of each unit. In my building, the units are all different sizes and shapes and some have garages and some don't, but the variations are that great between biggest and smallest so it usually isn't a problem.