What to check before buying an apartment: strata and owners corporation
An apartment purchase has three connected parts: the lot and its alterations, the common property and shared services, and the scheme that governs and pays for the building. Get the right records inspection for your state, read several years of minutes and finances, compare the works plan with available funds, and check insurance and active defects. Ask your legal representative to explain how any current or proposed levy affects the contract.
- 01LotYour four walls: condition, services, alterations
- 02Common propertyEveryone’s walls: the fabric and systems the plan makes shared
- 03SchemeThe scheme: its money, its minutes, its decisions
Start with the registered plan, then read it with the legislation and scheme records.
Read the lot and the scheme together
The registered plan and state law define the lot/common-property boundary. Inspect the lot, understand owner alterations, and read scheme records for shared fabric, services, finances, insurance, disputes and decisions. Use the shared-building risk guide to connect each issue to its boundary, decision maker and funding path. Check:
- Maintenance / sinking fund balance: is there enough set aside for the building’s age and the works it will need?
- Special levies: any raised recently, or foreshadowed in the meeting minutes?
- Quarterly fees: the ongoing cost, and the trend. Are they rising, and why?
- Insurance: what does the scheme policy insure, for what declared value, with which excesses, exclusions, claims and valuation basis?
- Disputes & defects: litigation, building-defect claims, or major works on the horizon.
- By-laws / rules: restrictions on pets, renovations or short-term letting that may affect how you use or rent the apartment.
Where to find it
Available documents and disclosure routes differ by state. In Victoria, relevant owners-corporation information forms part of the Section 32 process; elsewhere, certificates, searches or records inspections take different forms. Commission the appropriate search early enough to review minutes, financials, maintenance plans, insurance, defects, disputes, notices and correspondence. Missing or thin records are a substantive evidence gap worth investigating.
The funding gap is the tell
A fund balance has meaning only beside the building's forecast and known works, levy income, arrears, liabilities and timing. A low balance may be appropriate after completed work or inadequate for imminent work; a high balance may still be insufficient for a large program. Liability for a special levy can turn on the resolution, instalment due dates, state law, disclosure, contract and settlement adjustments. Have the legal representative map each known or proposed amount to this contract.
Then check the building itself
Use scheme records for boundaries, decisions, funding, insurance and known projects. Use a physical inspection for the lot and accessible common areas. Three recurring apartment questions deserve attention:
Waterproofing and balcony membranes
Failed waterproofing in bathrooms and balconies is a recurring apartment defect category. Repair can cross common property and multiple lots, with costs funded through the scheme.
Combustible cladding
Where external cladding is a concern, obtain the material assessment, any authority notices, rectification scope and completion evidence. Appearance and build decade cannot establish the product or the building's fire-safety position. Follow the issue through the records, including funding and unresolved stages.
Builder defects
Newer buildings carry the risk of original builder defects, waterproofing, fire separation, structural and services issues that emerge in the first years. The minutes will often show whether defects have been identified, pursued, and resolved, or are still in dispute. See red flags by era for what newer buildings tend to hide. For the exposures that continue after settlement, read strata risks for apartment owners and buyers.
Start with what you are actually buying
Match the contract's lot numbers with the apartment, parking space and storage you were shown. A space may be a separate lot, part of the apartment lot, common property subject to exclusive-use rights or something governed by another arrangement. Ask the legal reviewer to show you the basis for its use and any conditions. Paint on a parking bay and an agent's description do not establish title.
NSW's buyer guidance recommends reviewing titling information, by-laws and scheme records. For a building with shared facilities, ask whether more than one owners corporation or management arrangement is involved. A mixed retail/residential building can have costs and decisions outside the apartment scheme's familiar quarterly levy.
Read the sequence of a defect through the records
| Stage | What to request | What remains open |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint or observation | Location, dates, photographs and correspondence | The cause and affected extent may still be unknown. |
| Investigation | Actual technical report, scope and access limitations | An assessment can recommend more investigation rather than a final repair. |
| Decision | Resolution, accepted scope and approvals | Voting for work does not show it is fully funded or complete. |
| Delivery | Contract, progress records and variations | A paid invoice alone does not establish performance. |
| Close-out | Completion evidence, follow-up reports and recurrence history | Check whether related stages or other areas remain outstanding. |
A search report summarises the material made available on a particular date. If it mentions an engineer's report but does not include it, obtain the report. If a later meeting was pending, ask for the decision. Where minutes say 'resolved', establish whether that means the motion was passed, the dispute was settled or the physical defect was repaired. Those are different outcomes for a buyer.
Compare the cash with the work and its timing
Read the works forecast against actual cash, approved contributions, arrears, committed expenditure and the latest quotations. A forecast prepared before a newly discovered defect may no longer describe the building's needs. NSW's finance guidance distinguishes day-to-day expenditure from capital works and explains how contributions fund the scheme. Other states use different terminology and requirements.
An illustrative calculation helps expose the questions. Suppose a scheme has $120,000 available for a quoted $300,000 project, with no other funding committed: the apparent gap is $180,000. That is not yet your personal levy. Confirm whether the quoted scope is complete, whether the cash is already committed elsewhere, what future contributions or borrowing are approved and which lawful allocation applies to your lot. Do not divide by the number of apartments and treat the result as a liability.
Read shared services and insurance as ongoing obligations
Lifts, central hot water, pumps, ventilation, fire systems and embedded utilities create operating and renewal obligations even where the building looks tidy. Ask about service contracts, recent breakdowns, replacement proposals and the effect of outages on your apartment. A low-rise walk-up and a tower with multiple lifts have different cost structures; the comparison needs the assets as well as the levy.
Obtain the current insurance schedule and relevant policy terms, valuation information, excesses and records of claims or restrictions. Ask how known defects and completed rectification have been communicated to the insurer. A certificate showing that insurance exists does not settle whether a particular event would be covered or what you would pay. Cross-check material uncertainties with the insurer or broker using the condition and insurance guide.
State rules and your intended use change the review
In Victoria, follow the owners-corporation disclosure within the Section 32 process. In NSW, a section 184 certificate provides specified scheme information, while a records search gives access to a broader history; one is not a substitute for every document in the other. In Queensland, use the current seller-disclosure guide and ask which body-corporate certificate and records apply. Have the legal reviewer identify the exact route for the property rather than assuming the same bundle is mandatory nationally.
Tell that reviewer what you intend to do: keep a pet, change flooring, renovate a bathroom, install air conditioning, charge an electric vehicle or let the apartment. Ask for the relevant rules, approvals and any maintenance responsibility transferred by an earlier alteration. An attractive renovated bathroom can carry a documentation question even when there is no visible defect.
Worked example: low levies and an unfunded roof proposal
Illustrative reasoning example, not an inspected property. A 1980s walk-up has modest levies and a dry apartment on inspection day. Recent minutes discuss roof replacement but the search report contains no final quote. The fund balance looks healthy in isolation. Neither the dry room nor the cash balance establishes whether the proposed work is affordable.
Obtain the roof assessment, updated scope, financial commitments and later resolutions. The outcome could be a staged repair already funded, a major renewal requiring new contributions, or an unresolved proposal. Ask your legal representative how any resolved levy is dealt with in this contract. Keep the physical scope, scheme funding and sale allocation as three connected but separate conclusions.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before buying an apartment?
Check the registered plan, owners-corporation records, maintenance or capital-works plan, funds, levies, insurance, by-laws, disputes and defects. Add a physical inspection of the lot and accessible common areas.
What is a special levy and why does it matter?
It is an additional contribution resolved under the applicable strata or owners-corporation process. Existing and proposed levies can materially change ownership cost; responsibility around a sale depends on the resolution, due dates, law, disclosure and contract.
Where do I find the owners-corporation information?
The route depends on the state and title. Obtain the relevant disclosure or certificate and commission the appropriate records search; do not assume every state attaches minutes to the contract. In Victoria, review the owners-corporation material in the Section 32 process.
Is combustible cladding still a concern when buying an apartment?
It can be, but appearance and build decade do not establish the material or its fire-safety position. Obtain any assessment, notices, rectification records and funding information for the actual building.
Do I still need a building inspection for an apartment?
Yes. Scheme records cover finances, governance and known projects. A building inspection covers accessible physical condition in the lot and agreed common areas. Use both evidence sets.
Do low strata levies mean a well-run building?
They may reflect a simple building or completed work, but can also reflect deferred maintenance or underfunding. Compare the levy with the asset base, forecast, current condition and commitments.
Can I divide proposed works by the number of apartments?
That is not a reliable personal-liability calculation. Check the approved funding, applicable allocation, lot entitlements or other lawful arrangements, and contract treatment with the appropriate adviser.
Does a strata report replace the underlying technical reports?
No. Ask for material reports it refers to and check their dates, findings and limitations. A summary can omit the evidence needed to understand repair scope or unresolved risk.
How this guide was researched
We connect lot boundaries, defect history, shared assets and scheme funding, then distinguish the building question from the buyer’s contractual allocation.
Limits: Terminology, boundaries, disclosure and liability differ by state and registered plan. Obtain state-specific strata and legal advice.
Sources
- Buying a strata propertyNSW Government · accessed 2026-09-07
- Your strata levies, finances and insuranceNSW Government · accessed 2026-09-07
- What is an owners corporation?Consumer Affairs Victoria · accessed 2026-07-19
- Who is responsible for what in strataNSW Government · accessed 2026-07-19
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