Current Issues facing Lot Owners

Unsatisfactory management by owners corporation managers;
Defects in common property which impact the value and liveability of a lot owners property;
Low participation by lot owners in the conduct of the owners corporation;
Owners corporation’s functioning without a committee due to no active participation from lot owners;
Lack of transparency in how owners corporation financial and decision-making processes occur;
Self-managed owners corporations not functioning in compliance with the Owners Corporation act 2006 (Vic).
Disputes being triggered between lot owners due to poor management.

Owners corporations often do not have the funds to seek legal advice when issues arise. Sometimes they don’t know when to reach out for legal assistance because they rely on their professional manager to resolve a matter. However, professional managers are not legally trained.

This can lead to disputes and owners corporation funds being wasted in resolving matters.

Presently in Victoria, there is no independent body representing the interests of lot owners within owners corporations, other than the state government. Real estate and strata associations represent the interests of their members, which are real estate agents and owners corporation managers.
SCOA has been set up to advocate for lot owners.