#35509
Austman
Flatchatter

    I suspect that the OP’s strata scheme is mixed use. A building that’s part hotel and part residential. These seem to be quite common in Victoria.

    And also that the special levy relates only to the shared common areas.

    In Victoria, the raising of special levies must always consider the “benefit principle” rather than automatically using units of liability. Those lots that benefit more, pay more. Often an accountant or a quantity surveyor is used to determine which lots benefit more and by how much.

    Ordinary levies set according to annual budgets must use units of liability however. The “benefit principle” only applies to special levies.

    So the question here is not whether a special levy can be raised using the “benefit principle”, but rather can a special levy be used to retrospectively “adjust” ordinary levies?

    I doubt it.

    It might be possible to retrospectively adjust earlier special levies, but even that seems doubtful to me.

    If you look at recently published VCAT cases, you’ll see several about the “benefit principle” and on how it’s been interpreted. It’s rather complex.

    Possibly one way for OCs to invoke the “benefit principle” without the need to adjust units of liability would be to raise the majority of maintenance funds using special rather than ordinary levies.

    I agree that that the OP, possibly together with other hotel lot owners, needs to get legal advice.