First-Time Body Corporate Owner Guide: What to Expect in Your First 12 Months

Buying into a body corporate or strata scheme for the first time is a different experience to buying a standalone house. You are not just buying the unit. You are buying a share of a shared legal structure, with its own rules, its own budget, its own meetings, its own quirks, and its own levy notice that is going to land in your inbox sooner than you expect.

This guide is a plain-English walkthrough of what your first year actually looks like. What shows up in the mail. What the AGM is. What the committee does. What your levies pay for. What you should check before you sign. And what tends to surprise new owners most.

Where this comes from. My 12+ years in strata have been on the business development side of the industry, working with committees and owners across hundreds of schemes. I am also a strata owner myself. This is written from both angles: what I have seen new owners wrestle with from the industry side, and what I have actually experienced as an owner. Not legal or financial advice.

Quick terminology

A fast reset on the language, because it is different in Queensland and New South Wales for the same thing.

• In Queensland: body corporate, body corporate committee, body corporate manager, lot entitlement, sinking fund.
• In New South Wales: owners corporation, strata committee, strata manager, unit entitlement, capital works fund.

Same structure, two state vocabularies. For a full translation, see body corporate vs strata.

For simplicity, I will use the Queensland terms as the primary language in this guide and flag NSW equivalents where the practical difference matters.

Before you sign

You are not just buying a unit. You are buying a share of the body corporate. Which means:

• You are buying a share of the common property (lobbies, lifts, pool, roof, driveway, garden, facade).
• You are inheriting every decision the body corporate has made to date, including the size and shape of the sinking fund.
• You are inheriting the scheme’s by-laws, insurances, contracts, and financial position.
• You are buying your share of any pending special levies, unresolved disputes, or capital works about to start.

This is why the pre-purchase records check matters more than most buyers realise.

The pre-purchase records check

In Queensland this is called a body corporate records search or body corporate information certificate. In New South Wales the equivalent is a strata report (often obtained through a specialist strata search provider).

A good pre-purchase search tells you:

• The current balance of the administrative fund and sinking fund (QLD) or capital works fund (NSW)
• Any special levies raised in recent years or planned
• Outstanding debts and current levies
• Current insurance policies and sum insured
• Any active disputes or tribunal matters
• The by-laws, including any unusual restrictions (pets, short-term letting, renovations)
• The management agreement and any caretaker or letting agreements
• Minutes of recent general meetings and committee meetings

A cheap search that only pulls the headline financials can miss the information that actually matters. Spend the extra on a proper search. If anything concerning turns up, your lawyer or conveyancer can advise on how it affects the purchase.

If you are reading this guide before settlement, this is the single most valuable thing you can do right now.

What lands in the first 60 days

Once settlement happens and your ownership is registered, the body corporate manager (or strata manager in NSW) will usually pick up your details and you should start receiving correspondence within two to six weeks.

A welcome pack or owner pack

Most schemes send a welcome pack to new owners. It typically includes:

• The community management statement (QLD) or strata plan (NSW)
• The current by-laws
• Information on how to pay levies
• Contact details for the manager
• Access details for the scheme’s online portal if one is in use
• Emergency contact details for after-hours issues

If you do not receive one within 30 days of settlement, email the manager and ask for it.

Your first levy notice

Levy notices are usually issued quarterly. The timing is set by the scheme’s financial year and the AGM, not by your settlement date, so your first notice could land a week after settlement or three months after. It will not be for your unit’s full annual share; it will be for the quarter you are in, pro-rated where relevant.

Read the notice carefully. It will show an administrative fund amount and a sinking fund (or capital works) amount, plus any insurance or special levy contribution, plus a due date. Pay by the due date to avoid interest. Many schemes offer a small discount for early payment.

If you do not understand what is on your notice, ask the manager. That is what they are there for. New owners asking basic questions about a levy notice is completely normal.

The AGM: what it is and why it matters

Every scheme holds an Annual General Meeting (AGM) once a year. Notice will arrive by email or post, usually 21 days before the meeting. The notice includes the agenda, the budget, motions, financial reports, and often the insurance documents.

As a new owner, reading the AGM papers is the fastest way to understand the scheme you have just bought into. You will see:

• Last year’s financial performance
• This year’s proposed budget and levies
• The sinking fund forecast or capital works plan
• Insurance renewal details
• The body corporate manager’s agreement terms (if up for renewal)
• Any motions put forward by the committee or individual owners
• Nominations for the committee

You can attend in person, attend remotely (most schemes now offer hybrid), or vote by proxy or via a voting paper. You are not required to attend, but as a new owner it is worth going to your first one. It is the best 90 minutes you will spend understanding your scheme.

The committee: what they actually do

The committee is made up of owners (or their nominees) elected at the AGM. Typically between three and seven positions: chair, treasurer, secretary, and ordinary members. They meet as needed throughout the year to make ongoing decisions for the body corporate.

The committee handles things like:

• Approving routine maintenance and contractor engagement within the scheme’s thresholds
• Reviewing insurance renewal and recommending the policy to the AGM
• Monitoring the sinking fund forecast
• Enforcing by-laws (issuing contravention notices, coordinating with the manager)
• Approving minor works on common property
• Escalating disputes
• Choosing and managing the body corporate manager

What the committee cannot do without going back to a general meeting is set in the legislation. For example, spending over certain thresholds, changing by-laws, raising special levies, and signing long-term agreements all usually require owner approval by motion.

As a new owner, you are not expected to nominate for the committee immediately. Most owners spend their first 12 months watching how the scheme operates before putting their hand up. That is fine. If you do want to get involved earlier, say so at the AGM or ask the chair how to be considered.

The manager: what they actually do

The body corporate manager (or strata manager in NSW) is a paid professional engaged by the body corporate under a written agreement. Their job is to run the administrative and compliance machinery of the scheme.

Typical inclusions:

• Preparing and issuing levy notices
• Running trust accounts for the scheme
• Managing insurance renewals
• Organising AGMs and committee meetings
• Keeping the roll of owners and the scheme records
• Coordinating maintenance contractors
• Producing financial reports
• Handling owner correspondence

The manager is not a replacement for the committee. The committee still makes the decisions. The manager executes them and keeps the scheme running compliantly.

The most common new-owner misunderstanding is treating the manager as the scheme’s decision-maker. They are not. They are the scheme’s administrator.

What your levies actually pay for

Your quarterly levy is split between:

• Administrative fund (operating costs: insurance, manager fees, cleaning, gardening, utilities for common areas, minor maintenance)
• Sinking fund or capital works fund (long-term costs: painting, roof replacement, lift modernisation, major plant)

For a deeper breakdown, see body corporate fees explained.

The short version: you are paying for the shared operating costs of the building and for the eventual capital replacement of everything that wears out over decades.

Your rights as an owner

At a high level, as a lot owner you have the right to:

• Receive levy notices and the annual budget
• Attend general meetings and vote
• Put motions on general meeting agendas (subject to notice requirements)
• Access the scheme’s records (financials, minutes, by-laws, insurance, contracts)
• Nominate for the committee
• Lodge disputes through the regulator and tribunal processes described in the legislation
• Be treated fairly and in accordance with the scheme’s by-laws

Your rights scale up when you participate. Most of the formal processes (putting forward motions, asking questions at meetings, accessing records) require you to engage a little. Passive owners get levy notices and little else.

Common first-year surprises

Six things new owners mention to me more than any others.

1. The levy went up

Levies rarely stay flat. Insurance costs, inflation on maintenance contracts, and sinking fund catch-ups regularly push annual increases of 5 to 15%. Well-run schemes manage this transparently. Less well-run schemes hit owners with sudden jumps.

2. The sinking fund was not what was advertised

The pre-purchase search will show the current balance, but the true question is whether the sinking fund is on track to meet the forecast. A scheme with a large-sounding balance can still be underfunded if the forecast is optimistic.

3. The by-laws are stricter than expected

Short-term letting restrictions, pet rules, renovation approvals, parking rules. Read them.

4. The AGM is faster than they expected

A well-run AGM can be under 90 minutes. The documents are the real source of information; the meeting itself ratifies what was already circulated.

5. The committee is made of regular owners

Not professional landlords or experts. Just neighbours who put their hand up. They do their best, they make mistakes, and they are volunteers.

6. The manager is not the committee

Already mentioned above but it comes up repeatedly. Directing everything at the manager is a common new-owner mistake.

How to engage well as a new owner

A short list of habits that make ownership significantly easier.

• Read the AGM papers every year. Even if you do not attend.
• Pay levies on time. Interest on arrears is not a fight worth having.
• Keep your contact details current with the manager.
• Raise issues in writing, politely, and factually. Creates a record, reduces misunderstanding.
• Ask questions when you do not understand something. That is what the manager is paid for.
• Be patient with the committee. Most are trying to do the right thing with limited time and no pay.
• If the scheme has genuine problems, consider nominating for the committee after your first year.

If something is seriously wrong

If you believe the scheme is being badly run, by-laws are not being enforced, the manager is not performing, or a decision has been made improperly, see body corporate disputes guide for the practical process. Most issues resolve at the internal stage if raised properly. The formal tribunal processes exist but are rarely the first step.

Related reading

• Getting Started, foundational Q&A for new owners
• Owners and Tenants, rights, responsibilities, and common questions
• Body Corporate Fees Explained, understanding your levies
• Body Corporate vs Strata, QLD and NSW differences
• Body Corporate Disputes Guide, when something goes wrong

Primary sources

• Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld)
• Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW)
• Queensland Government, Body corporate information
• NSW Fair Trading, Strata information

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Last updated: April 2026
Written by: Jeff Blaszkowski, Founder, Body Corporate Gold Coast
Background: 20+ years in business development, including 12+ years in QLD strata (Accor, Smarter Communities, Bright & Duggan). Strata owner. Not a licensed strata manager.
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeffblaz

This information is general in nature and is not legal, financial, or strata advice. For advice specific to your scheme or purchase, consult a qualified strata professional, conveyancer, or lawyer.