#37526
scotlandx
Strataguru

    There is nothing preventing owners from paying levies in advance, and if an expense then arises the OC using the funds available to meet that expense. Where an owner pays in advance, the strata records will show that – for example if you pay a year in advance your levy notice should show:

    – levies payable for that quarter
    – amount paid by the owner to date
    – amount if any payable by the due date – where paid in advance it will show nil

    You may not need to strike a special levy, it depends on the circumstances. The thing is, if the expense has been incurred then you can’t reverse it – note that you can’t enter into a contract unless you have the funds to pay for it at that time.

    More generally – if a strata scheme has funds that are so low that they cannot proceed with a maintenance item such as tree removal (which is not that expensive) then I suggest it is not setting the budget appropriately, and the levies are too low. What are you going to do if something really serious arises? Basically I am repeating what Sir Humphrey has said – you need to plan for both known and unknown expenses – we have done this for a long time now, and it has seen us through some major issues including replacement of the hot water system and major work on the sewer pipes.