Strata levies & the cost of living. Find expert advice for reducing your strata fees.

Strata levies & the cost of living

ABC news have recently run both a news story and this article , where owners talk about the rising cost of levies and the impact on their personal budgets. This is something we understand all too well.

Unfortunately, strata scheme expenses are not immune to the same cost of living increases as everything else. In the last year there have been substantial increases in the costs of:

• Insurance, on average, between 20-25%
• Electricity and gas – 20%
• Building and repair costs – between 10 – 20%.

Amanda Farmer, Strata Lawyer and host of the Your Strata Property podcast, spoke to Michael McLaren on 2GB about this very topic just this weekend. You can listen here, beginning at 1:24.

In 2022, Property Investor Magazine, reflecting on insurance premium increases at the time, predicted premiums would continue to rise even further. And so they did, impacting strata budgets around the country.

As owners look for ways to save money as interest rate increases hit hard, it makes sense to review the expenses incurred by your strata community. The most productive way to achieve this is for the strata committee (with the strata manager if you have one) to go through the expenses line-by-line. There may be opportunity to save costs by:

1. Getting tenders for maintenance contracts like pumps and garage doors to extend their life and reduce breakdowns.
2. Reviewing contracts and comparing against market rates.
3. Ensuring utility costs have been tendered and are on contracts.
4. Investigating energy reduction options such as LED light fittings in common areas.
5. Consider volunteer work to help maintain gardens etc.

It’s important to remember though that the owners corporation have a strict obligation to repair and maintain the property, so delaying repairs is not an option for money saving. Likewise, a well maintained building is a well valued building, and levies are how this is achieved.

It’s a balance, and your Genesis strata manager understands this. After all, we’re people with mortgages, families and living expenses too. We’ll work with you to balance those scales to keep your building in this best state, while ensuring you are not wasting a single dollar.