Let's start with some basics ...

Let's assume you know very little about high density strata, community and association real estate and want or need to understand it.  So, to start you should understand some basic concepts and the purpose of a separate real estate titling, ownership and management regime.

Strata, community and association schemes exist to allow multiple owners to own and use parts of land and buildings by an interlocked system of rules, rights and obligations. 

The key features characterising this kind of real estate include -

• Split ownership of the real estate between owners and a collective group or body.
• Spatial boundary definitions creating three dimensional spaces.
• Collective governance systems with an overriding collective group or body and compulsory membership.
• Mandatory operational controls usually imposed by regulators that must be followed.
• Restricted property rights for private and shared property compared to single title real estate.
• Close living compromises in relation to shared spaces, shared services and behavioural rules.
• A tension between private law matters in the scheme and public law matters affecting the wider community.
• Perpetual existence of the overriding collective group or body and the scheme itself.
• Management by owner representatives, onsite-facilities managers and offsite facilities and other kinds of managers.
• Compulsory repair and maintenance obligations.
• Compulsory insurance obligations.
• Information and records keeping and access mechanisms.
• Funding controls covering raising, holding, spending and accounting for money.
• Decision making by meeting processes and variable voting thresholds.

Future posts will explore each of these features in more detail.

Other posts explain the relevant laws containing the details and identify groups you can  participate in.

Francesco ...