What is a body corporate?

When buying into an apartment block or unit, you may find yourself paying body corporate fees. Get to know the ins and outs of body corporates with Lodge.

Simply put a body corporate is a collective of unit owners with a common interest or ownership of a unit title development.

Many multi-unit complexs including apartments, townhouses, retail shops, industrial units, and commercial offices use unit titles for their ownership structure.

The rights and responsibilities of owning a unit title are different to that of owning a traditional house. Unit holders as a collective decide on certain aspects of the units and common property though the body corporate.

Every unit title development has a body corporate, which is setup when the development is being constructed. This is usually done by the developer/solicitor.

The body corporate is a legal entity and is bound by the Unit Titles Act 2010 (the Act) and the Unit Title Regulations 2011.

What does the body corporate actually do?

A variety of financial, management and administrative tasks are the responsibility of the body corporate. Under the Unit Titles Act 2010 the body corporate must:

• Hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM) 
• Maintain and repair the common areas 
• Organise the building insurance 
• Create and run a long-term maintenance plan 
• Elect a Chairperson 
• Elect a committee (if more than 9 units)
• Make sure the body corporate operational rules are enforced 
• Provide key documents to unit owners
• Levy contributions on owners to fund the operation of the body corporate

Read more about who does what.

What’s the role of a body corporate manager?

Hiring a professional manager can take the stress out of running the various administrative functions that a body corporate is responsible for. The manager provides:

• Peace of mind - by taking on the more complicated tasks of managing a body corporate, so members don’t have to 
• Local expertise - detailed knowledge of asset management, insurance, health and safety, compliance, financial management 
• Unbiased and independent support - to resolve disputes quickly and help members reach agreement 
• Access to specialised services and support networks

How we can help?

There’s no need for you to be an expert, Lodge Body Corporate has a wealth of experience in body corporate management.

Our experience ensures your body corporate complies with the law. We also provide independent and unbiased advice and support, and we work collectively to resolve disputes and disagreements. In addition, we also take care of all the tricky stuff like levy collection and debt control, so you don’t have to.

Basically, we're there to make your life easier but also ensure that if you wish to sell your unit all the information, disclosures and accounts are in order so you have no hold ups with your sales process.