Strata Glossary: 40+ NSW Strata Terms Explained in Plain English

Strata comes with its own language. If you're buying your first apartment in NSW — or even if you've owned one for years — the terminology in strata reports, meeting minutes, and by-laws can be baffling.

This glossary covers every strata term you're likely to encounter, explained in plain English. Bookmark it for the next time you're reading through a strata report or contract of sale.

Money & Finances

Administration Fund (Admin Fund)

The day-to-day bank account for the strata scheme. Covers routine costs like cleaning, gardening, insurance premiums, strata manager fees, and minor repairs. Funded by quarterly levies from every owner.

Capital Works Fund (Sinking Fund)

The savings account for big-ticket repairs and replacements — think roof waterproofing, lift upgrades, or repainting the building. NSW law renamed it from "sinking fund" to "capital works fund" in 2016, but both terms are still used interchangeably. What counts as a healthy balance?

Capital Works Fund Plan (10-Year Plan)

A mandatory forecast of every major repair the building will need over the next 10 years, with estimated costs. Since April 2026, new rules require these plans to be prepared by qualified professionals and updated regularly. See the latest changes.

Levy (Strata Levy)

The regular payment every lot owner makes to fund the strata scheme. Usually paid quarterly. Levies are split into two parts: one for the admin fund and one for the capital works fund. Your share is based on your unit entitlement.

Special Levy

A one-off extra payment on top of regular levies, usually raised to cover an unexpected expense — like emergency waterproofing or a legal bill the capital works fund can't cover. These can be significant. A $50,000 repair bill split across 20 lots means $2,500 per owner, sometimes with very little notice.

Levy Arrears

Unpaid levies. When owners don't pay their levies on time, the shortfall affects everyone — the scheme has less money for maintenance and repairs. High arrears in a strata report is a red flag that the building may be financially stressed.

Levy Recovery

The process of chasing unpaid levies from owners, which can escalate from reminder notices to NCAT orders to debt recovery through the courts. The owners corporation can also charge interest on overdue levies.

Governance & People

Owners Corporation (Body Corporate)

The legal entity made up of all lot owners in a strata scheme. It's responsible for managing and maintaining common property, setting levies, enforcing by-laws, and arranging insurance. In other states it's called a "body corporate" — in NSW it's officially an "owners corporation."

Strata Committee (Executive Committee)

A small group of owners (usually 3–9) elected at the annual general meeting to make decisions on behalf of the owners corporation between meetings. They handle day-to-day governance like approving minor works, dealing with complaints, and overseeing the strata manager. Formerly called the "executive committee" before 2016.

Strata Managing Agent (Strata Manager)

A professional hired by the owners corporation to handle the administrative side of running the scheme — things like collecting levies, arranging repairs, preparing meeting agendas, keeping records, and managing insurance. Most schemes with more than a handful of lots use one.

Building Manager (Caretaker)

A person (or company) contracted to look after the physical building — cleaning common areas, managing tradespeople, handling deliveries, and general upkeep. Not the same as a strata manager, who handles the financial and administrative side.

Original Owner (Developer)

The developer who built the building and registered the strata plan. Under NSW law, the original owner has specific obligations around defect rectification, initial maintenance schedules, and must hand over management to lot owners within a set timeframe.

Meetings & Voting

Annual General Meeting (AGM)

The yearly meeting where all lot owners vote on the budget, elect the strata committee, approve major works, and raise any concerns. Every owners corporation must hold one. If you're buying, the AGM minutes from the last 2–3 years tell you a lot about the building's health and politics.

Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)

A meeting called outside the normal AGM schedule to deal with something urgent — like approving emergency repairs, a special levy, or removing a strata manager. Multiple EGMs in a short period can signal a building with serious governance issues.

Ordinary Resolution

A vote that passes with a simple majority (more than 50%) of votes cast at a meeting. Used for routine decisions like approving the budget or electing committee members.

Special Resolution

A vote that requires at least 75% of votes cast in favour, with no more than 25% against. Used for bigger decisions like changing by-laws, granting exclusive use rights over common property, or approving major renovations.

Unanimous Resolution

A vote where every single lot owner must agree — no exceptions. Required for the most significant changes, like selling common property, transferring part of the common property to a lot, or terminating the strata scheme entirely. Extremely hard to achieve in practice.

Proxy

A written authorisation allowing someone else to vote on your behalf at a meeting. Proxy farming — where one person collects many proxies to control votes — is a known problem in larger schemes. NSW law limits how many proxies one person can hold (generally no more than 5% of total lots or 1 proxy in smaller schemes).

Property & Legal Structure

Strata Scheme

The legal structure that divides a building or development into individually owned lots (apartments, townhouses, or commercial spaces) plus shared common property. The strata scheme is what makes apartment ownership possible — you own your lot, and collectively own the shared bits.

Strata Plan

The registered document that creates the strata scheme. It includes diagrams showing the boundaries of each lot, common property areas, and each lot's unit entitlement. Every strata plan has a unique plan number (e.g., SP 12345). How to check a strata plan.

Lot

An individual unit of ownership within a strata scheme — usually an apartment, but can also be a townhouse, car space, storage unit, or commercial space. Each lot has a number (e.g., Lot 5) and defined boundaries on the strata plan.

Common Property

Everything in the building that isn't part of an individual lot. This includes lobbies, hallways, stairwells, lifts, the roof, external walls, gardens, pools, gyms, driveways, and pipes/wiring inside walls. Maintained collectively by all owners through levies.

Exclusive Use By-law

A by-law that gives a specific lot owner the exclusive right to use a part of common property — like a courtyard, rooftop terrace, parking space, or storage area. The area is still technically common property (owned by everyone), but only one lot gets to use it.

Unit Entitlement

A number assigned to each lot that determines two things: (1) what share of the levies you pay, and (2) your voting power at meetings. A lot with a unit entitlement of 20 out of a total 1,000 pays 2% of all levies. Bigger apartments generally have higher unit entitlements.

Strata Roll

The official register of all lot owners in a strata scheme, including their names, addresses, and lot details. Owners are legally required to notify the owners corporation within 28 days of any change in ownership or contact details.

Company Title

An older form of apartment ownership (pre-strata) where you buy shares in a company that owns the building, rather than owning your apartment directly. Much less common today. Company title units can be harder to finance and come with more restrictions — make sure you know the difference before buying.

By-laws & Rules

By-law

A rule that governs behaviour in the strata scheme. By-laws cover things like noise, renovations, pets, parking, use of common property, and short-term letting (e.g., Airbnb). They're legally binding on all owners and tenants. Each scheme has its own set, which can be amended by special resolution.

Model By-laws

A standard set of by-laws provided by NSW legislation that apply to every strata scheme unless the scheme has adopted its own. They cover the basics — no noise after 10pm, no damage to common property, keeping your lot in good repair. Many schemes adopt the model by-laws and add extras on top.

By-law Contravention Notice

A formal notice sent to an owner or tenant who has breached a by-law. It's the first step in the enforcement process. If the breach continues, the owners corporation can apply to NCAT for orders and penalties.

Building & Maintenance

Building Defect

A fault in construction — things like water leaks, cracking, poor waterproofing, or non-compliant cladding. Major defects can cost millions to fix and are one of the biggest financial risks in strata ownership. See what a $37M defect case looks like.

Defect Bond (Building Bond)

A financial guarantee (worth 2% of the contract price) lodged by the developer when a new strata building is completed. It's held for two years and can be claimed by the owners corporation if the developer fails to fix defects. Introduced by the NSW government to protect apartment buyers from dodgy builders.

Initial Maintenance Schedule

A document the developer must provide when a new strata scheme is registered, listing all the building components and their recommended maintenance schedules. Since April 2026, these must follow a standardised format.

Common Property Memorandum

A written agreement between a lot owner and the owners corporation about who is responsible for maintaining specific parts of common property — like a courtyard or exclusive-use area. Helps avoid disputes about who pays for repairs.

Insurance

Building Insurance (Strata Insurance)

Insurance the owners corporation is legally required to hold, covering the building structure and common property for full replacement value. Covers damage from events like fire, storm, or flood. This is separate from contents insurance, which each owner arranges for their own lot.

Public Liability Insurance

Insurance covering the owners corporation if someone is injured on common property — like a visitor slipping in the lobby or a tile falling from a balcony. Mandatory for all strata schemes in NSW (minimum $20 million cover).

Workers Compensation Insurance

Required if the strata scheme directly employs anyone — like an on-site building manager or cleaner. If the building only uses contractors (not employees), this isn't needed.

Disputes & Legal

NCAT (NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal)

The tribunal that handles most strata disputes in NSW. It's cheaper and faster than going to court. Deals with by-law breaches, levy disputes, access to records, renovation approvals, and common property maintenance orders. We analysed 2,000 NCAT strata cases.

Mediation

A voluntary process where a neutral mediator helps the parties in a strata dispute reach an agreement. NSW Fair Trading offers free strata mediation, and it's often required before you can take a case to NCAT.

Strata Renewal (Collective Sale)

A process where a strata scheme can be terminated and the building sold as a whole — usually for redevelopment. Requires agreement from at least 75% of lot owners and approval from the Land and Environment Court. Rare but increasingly relevant for ageing buildings in high-value locations.

Reports & Documents

Strata Report (Strata Inspection Report)

A comprehensive package of documents you can order before buying an apartment. Typically includes the strata certificate (see below), financial statements, meeting minutes, by-laws, insurance details, and any legal proceedings. Prepared by a strata search company or the strata manager, it's the most complete picture of a scheme's health. How to read one.

Strata Certificate (Section 184 Certificate)

An official certificate issued under Section 184 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 by the owners corporation (or its strata manager). Provides a formal snapshot of the scheme's financial and legal status — levy amounts, fund balances, outstanding debts, and any legal proceedings. Since April 2026, strata certificates must also include details on building defects and the capital works fund plan. This certificate is usually included as part of a full strata report.

Meeting Minutes

Written records of what was discussed and decided at AGMs, EGMs, and strata committee meetings. These are gold for buyers — they reveal building issues, owner disputes, upcoming expenses, and how well the scheme is managed. Always ask for at least the last 2–3 years of minutes.

Make Sense of Your Strata Report

Now that you know the terminology, the next step is putting it into practice. If you're looking at an apartment and have a strata report, you can upload it to StrataChecks for an instant AI-powered analysis — we'll flag red flags, explain the financials, and tell you what to look out for, all in plain English.

Don't have a report yet? Search for your building to find the strata plan number — it's the first step to getting one.

For more guides on navigating strata in NSW, check out how to read a strata report, how much a strata report costs, and what a healthy sinking fund looks like.