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Hi all… I own an apartment within a Company Title block of units in Melbourne, and the board are just at the beginnings of looking into converting from Company Title to Strata Title. The process is at present an unknown one, and seems confusing at best, onerous at worst. Is there any advice that is publicly available on the detailed step by step process that will be required specific to the state of Victoria?
A feasibility study first needs to be commissioned in line with the company constitution, which has to be done by an outside consultant.
Is there advice for a specific occupation that could employed to project mange the conversion, and to assist with writing a feasibility study into the process and possible costs? My thinking is a planner, but maybe a lawyer, or real estate specialist, or all three plus possible others? At present I believe the majority of consideration will be in the planning field, as possible major building works to get the building up to standard with the current building regulations/codes, and surveying will be required (fire proofing, survey for subdivision etc) hence thinking a planner. What are others thoughts?
I would love to know is there anyone out there that has done this conversion in Melbourne in recent times and has first hand knowledge of the full process, warts and all, that I could get advice from?
Thanks in advance 🙂
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This would be a big project and you are going to need quantity surveyors and lawyers at the very least. With any big project I was doing, I would appoint a project manager who had done something like this before – and in Victoria, to boot. So I would phone around surveyors and strata lawyers or contact someone like or new chums at Stratasavvy to see if they have any ideas.
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No first hand of the process – but the reason for not changing was the expense to change. Supposedly there are less buyers for a Company Title because the Banks will want a higher deposit.
I also find that the Strata Manager -vs- Scheme Manager tends to apply the OC Act (VIC) rather than the Memorandum and most owners don’t know the difference.
I would check the Memorandum and the Service Agreement – there might be some advantages.I would check the Memorandum and the Service Agreement – there might be some advantages.
Got any links for those?
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Each Company round have their own specific Memorandum and service agreement that comes with the title.
My title was drafted in the 60s and had few full stops (like reading James Joyce) – these days you could get an AI program to rewrite it so you could at least do a word find.
They are governed by the Corporations Act 2001(Cth) and the Company Titles(Home Units) Act 2013 (vic).
If it’s anything like up in NSW, an audit of the building to current National Construction Code (NCC) is probably the first step to take…..although that now makes you fully aware of any and all liabilities. A previous 2019 revision incorporated changes, that depending on the construction, height and so forth of the building, could get extremely expensive and disruptive, if it applies.
Typically up here, a BCA consultant will project manage the defect side, but they generally have little idea on cost for budgetting purposes. An estimator or quantity surveyor is possibly worthwhile, but we found several years ago, a lot were uninterested in what was for them, a piddly project. Unless questions arise under your constitution, lawyers are probably at the end the process – winding up the company, etc.
I’d suggest having a sizeable war chest before embarking on anything if the building is a good age, several of the shareholders here have had to depart and I know of one building a few blocks away, where the owner topped himself.