Body Corporate Fees & Payment

Body Corporate Accounts and Budget

For your confidence, each body corporate managed by ACE Body Corporate Management has an individual bank account established in its own name. It’s under the delegation of the body corporate members, that the strata manager remains sole signatory to the account.

As part of its account management obligations, your Strata Manager raises strata fees, issues fee notices and supports the debt recovery process. They also make payments out of the body corporate funds and provide financial statements to keep you, and all members of your Body Corporate informed.

It is important however that you are aware, that it is you, as lot owners collectively that set the annual strata fees and that you recognise the importance of remaining an active part of the decision making processes.

There are three main types of strata fees: administrative fund levies, capital works fund levies and special levies. The main component of the budget is generally the insurance premium, which may cover such things as buildings, common area facilities and shared services, as well as public liability cover office bearers liability. Other body corporate expenses include your caretaking, grounds and building maintenance, strata management fees as well as utility bills for common areas (watering of the gardens, lighting), repairs, preventative maintenance through to routine maintenance of essential services, lifts, pools etc. These are often referred to as “Administrative fund levies”.

Your body corporate will vary to the extent of funds that accumulate in your account. Many operate on a small margin over the normal annual operating costs while others plan and wisely choose to accumulate funds over time so that they’re prepared for major capital works as they arise, for example painting, replacement of gutters, fences and roofs. If your body corporate is without sufficient funds, at the time a major un-budgeted expense is to be incurred, it may raise once-off special levies to collect fees to pay for the necessary work.

It is the collective decision of lot owners, which sets the strata fees at each annual general meeting, as well as the frequency of payments towards the annual budget (eg annually, six monthly, quarterly). The annual general meeting is held close to the beginning of each financial year of the body corporate, so be sure to diarise the date as soon as known to make sure you can attend, participate and contribute to decisions. The budget to be set should include- the total amount required to maintain and manage your strata scheme, its services and facilities, as well as accommodate potential expenses to address timely concerns of the members. Once set, the agreed annual budget dictates the amount of body corporate funds to be accumulated that year, and in turn is calculated into the strata fees payable by each member. The amount contributed by each member is based on a table included in the plan, which reflects a % basis respectively of each lot in comparison to the plan as a whole. This table includes reference to "lot liability".

Other meetings may be held if required by members to address additional and unprojected needs of a body corporate, as they arise.