Too often strata owners are fleeced by managers of owners corporations and their delegate, the committee of management. That’s because lot owners who understand the legislation are as scarce as hen's teeth. Few are willing or able to stand up for their rights, mostly because they don’t know them. And a minority take a keen interest in how their strata community is maintained and how their levies are spent.

If you are a lot owner, I am talking about you. I am talking about the strata property you have worked so hard to purchase!

Many are fearful of crossing swords with power wielding managers of owners corporations. But, who is the customer? It’s the strata owner. Ironically, we entrust managers of owners corporation to apply our hard-won levies to properly maintain our common property.  When something goes wrong, where do you turn?

After the circus of approaching the owners corporation manager and committee of management, your issue can easily roll back to you without any resolution. Where do you go?

Is help readily on hand when an owner turns up to your AGM with a handful of alleged dodgy proxies? How do you make your vote count when one owner or the owners corporation manager harvests proxies, but still claims to have no conflict of interest? Where do you go for support when a member of a committee of management with an alleged conflict of interest pushes through a resolution to repair their own heritage veranda while damaging another in the process? Why do you have to wait for the incursion of rainwater inside your home before someone agrees to remove weeds from common property gutters? Where do you turn for advice and support when you are tipped out of your home after common property sewerage has penetrated your belongings? What do you do when you discover a newly elected member of your committee of management is financially or morally bankrupt?

Strata owners across Australia are, regrettably, too familiar with such stories. There's a view that in some states or territories, strata owners have less rights than residential tenants.

When strata owners are disaffected, their only option currently is to go to the administrative tribunal in their state. That can only occur if the issue is at odds with the legislation. Otherwise, for the most part, there is nowhere to go for help. The alternatives include doing nothing or selling up and moving away. The administrative process is exhausting, stressful, costly and hardly an appropriate arena for newcomers to exhibit their lack of knowledge, especially of the legislation.

There are 3 million strata owners in Australia and this number will rise along with the proliferation of vertical apartments.  Already heavily burdened state administrative tribunals have the potential to be overwhelmed with complaints from strata owners.

There are many issues that could be resolved if strata owners had easy and immediate access to information, advocacy or support. What strata owners need is an organisation that is on their side and employs people that have their back.

A national and federated non-profit organization that is strictly for strata owners is required urgently to stem the flow of unnecessary complaints to administrative tribunals. This organisation will provide strata owner members with direct access to advice, including about their rights. It will also provide assistance to deal with their issues of concern eg what they see as unfair decisions made by committees of management including breaching, impacts of conflicts of interest, how to make a complaint, dealing with proxy harvesting, poor maintenance etc.  Strata owners will receive hands on assistance and support to manage disputes with a remit to prevent escalations to consumer affairs and administrative tribunals. This should save state governments millions of dollars in administrative tribunal hearings that could have otherwise been avoided.

For far too long, strata owners have been at the mercy of managers of owners corporations and committees of management’s questionable administrative processes and decision making.  

It is time for strata owners to take charge of how their communities are managed and how their levies are spent. But many can’t do that without support.

The proposed organisation is for strata owners and will be run by strata owners. Unlike other organisations that purport to support strata owners, membership will NEITHER be open to strata industry management and staff NOR related service providers. 

Strata owners need trusted representation and a specialised organisation that they can access when things go wrong. They need an organisation that cares exclusively for their concerns.

So what do you say! If you are a strata owner, put up your hand. Be counted. Sign this petition and then share it with other strata owners.