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Strata Reports Glossary
Administrative Fund	Lot levies are paid into this fund to cover day-to-day expenses of the Owner’s Corporation, i.e. electricity, insurance and common property maintenance.
Aggregate Unit Entitlement	This is the total of all the individual unit entitlements in the strata scheme.
By-Laws	A set of "rules" the residents (owners and tenants) in the strata scheme must follow. These can be changed at a General Meeting. All by-laws are not the same. It is wise to obtain a copy of the current by-laws for your strata scheme.
Certificate of Title	A legal document showing ownership of the property and any ownership conditions.
Common Property	The area of land and building in a strata scheme, which does not form part of any lot.
Community Scheme	A community, precinct or neighbour hood development subdividing land under the provisions of the Community Land Development Act 1989.
Company Title	The older form of title for home units, where owners are shareholders in a private company. Shareholders have exclusive possession of their unit but the owner technically forms part of the company. Companies may have rules preventing leasing or requiring a purchaser be approved.
Exclusive Use	A special right granted to an owner for the use of part of the common property i.e. exclusive use of a car space located on the common property.
Executive Committee	Elected representatives of the owners. An election takes place at each Annual General Meeting. The powers of the Executive Committee are limited under the SSMA but the Owner’s Corporation may also impose additional restrictions.
General Meeting	A meeting of all owners and other interested parties i.e. mortgagees. The Owners Corporation is required to convene and hold a General Meeting annually. This meeting must be held on a date no earlier than one month before nor later than one month after each anniversary date of the First Annual General Meeting.
Initial Period	The period from the date of registration of the strata plan until the completion of the sale of one third of the aggregate unit entitlement. There are certain restrictions during the initial period designed to protect buyers.
Levies	Contributions paid by owners to the Owners Corporation to cover expenditure and allocation for capital expenditure. These are usually paid quarterly and the amount is based on units of entitlement.
Lot	In a strata scheme, a unit is referred to as a "lot". Car spaces, garages, laundries, marinas can also form part of a lot or are also identified as a separate lot. Individual owners own the lot identified on their contract of sale.
Motion	A proposal for consideration by a meeting.
Owners Corporation	Collectively the owners of the lots in the strata scheme. This is formed when the strata plan is registered. It is a special type of corporation that is not required to comply with the requirements of the Corporations Act.
Proxy	A person appointed in writing by an owner or mortgagee to attend an owner’s corporation meeting and votes on that person's behalf.
Quorum	Before any motion can be voted upon at a meeting, a quorum must exist, i.e. 25% of those entitled to vote or owner/owners holding 25% or more of the aggregate unit entitlements A quorum must consist of at least 2 persons. At Executive Committee Meetings, a quorum is constituted when half of the members are present. If a meeting is adjourned through a lack of a quorum and there is not a quorum present half an hour after the scheduled start time for the adjourned meeting then those present constitute a quorum.
Resolution	A decision made at a meeting.
Section 109 Certificate	A certificate issued by the managing agent or authorised person of the owner’s corporation. It contains details of levy contributions, insurances, executive committee etc.. A statutory fee is payable to the Owner’s Corporation.
Sinking Fund	Levies paid into this fund cover renewal and replacement of fixtures and fittings, i.e. painting, garage door replacement, stairwell carpets etc
Special Levy	A lump sum contribution to cover either unplanned or underestimated expenditure. This may be a one off payment of levied for over a period i.e. every quarter for a year.
Special Resolution	A motion against which no more than 25% of the value of the vote is cast (based on unit entitlement).
Strata Managing Agent	A licensed strata managing agent appointed by the Owner’s Corporation to manage the strata scheme and delegated functions. An appointment must be made at an Annual General Meeting of the Owner’s Corporation and a strata managing agency agreement must be executed by 2 members of the Executive Committee and the strata managing agent.
Strata Plan	This is the plan registered at the Land Titles Office, which shows the building on the land indicating all the lots and common property.
Strata Roll	This is a register of the owners of each lot in the strata scheme. It also includes the name of any mortgagee, covenant chargee or lessee (if notified).
Strata Schemes Management Act 1996	The legislation under which all strata matters are dealt with in NSW.
Unanimous Resolution	A motion against which no vote is cast.
Unit Entitlement	Each lot is given a "unit entitlement" and this is shown on the strata plan and the certificate of title. The unit entitlement amount is technically required to reflect the relative value of the lot. More valuable lots having a higher unit entitlement than lower value lots. Levies payable are calculated on the basis of unit entitlement.

Strata Reports Glossary