We all pay different levy amounts
All unit groups are different and the amount paid by individual unit owners to their body corporate are determined by the total spend of the body corporate on ongoing maintenance (which will vary based on works required, ongoing gardening and cleaning services and the amenity of the property - ie, properties with major infrastructure, gyms, pools, spas etc will have higher expenses than a property without), administration (which is why we work with a low management fee to keep administration costs to a minimum) and the sinking fund (monies held aside in saving for the future maintenance of the property).
Once the total budget is determined the corporation will then work out how that is to be split among owners and how often it is to be paid. While the standard is for levies to be issued on a quarterly basis, there are some properties which have half-yearly and even annual levies.
How the levies are split depends on the resolutions passed by the body corporate over its lifetime with many older properties setting levy amounts equally. The standard though is to have levies paid by Unit Entitlement Values for Strata Corporations and by Lot Entitlement Values for Community Corporations.
In the example (see right) the units are all very similar in size, but there are units positioned at the front of the building with a grass covered setback from the street, others with balconies which overlook a common driveway and apartments at the rear of the building overlooking the rear garden.
All of these may be of similar size inside but each has differing factors impacting upon its appeal and value.
In this property the Unit Entitlement Values vary with owners paying between 4.67 and 5.27% of the total of the corporations expenses.
There are many properties where one unit may be an old house with a large land parcel with units built around it and in those examples the larger property pays significantly more than the smaller units toward the ongoing expenses of the corporation.
The Unit entitlement Values are set by a licensed valuer and held by the Lands Titles Office attached to the plan for the corporation.
The entitlement is a number assigned to a unit that bears in relation to the aggregate unit entitlements of all the units, the same proportion that the capital value of the unit bears to the aggregate capital value of the scheme. ie, they should reflect within a tolerance of 10% the percentage of ownership that the unit owner has in the total of the property.
We hope that this quick overview has provided clarity on why levies are different. If this has raised any queries for you please contact Michael on 8350 5699.
