The committee chair, one of three owner-occupiers, had been organising quotes and chasing up most other repairs himself. We suggested setting up a building WhatsApp group, and began troubleshooting collectively. More than once, when the manager failed to respond, and we bypassed them altogether, we said: \u201cThis would be so much cheaper and more efficient if we just did it ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
A full roof replacement was too daunting to do solo, so we changed management companies. Once that was done, I set out to discover how we could dispense with property managers altogether.<\/p>\n
Building bosses<\/p>\n
Strata title is not strictly an Australian invention, but is often mythologised as one. Prior to the 1960s, apartment blocks, units and the like were owned by companies, and individuals bought shares that gave them the right to live in part of the property. Shares in a company title didn\u2019t confer ownership, though, and banks\u2019 dislike of funding the purchase of company title shares caused problems for developers. So in 1961, the NSW government introduced strata titles into law. Other states and territories quickly followed suit, and the model has since been used as a blueprint for similar schemes around the world. Accompanying the new ownership system were mechanisms for democratic, collective management by owners.<\/p>\n
double quotation markIt\u2019s almost like they think they\u2019re the CEO of the building … whereas they actually work for the owners.Adam Promnitz<\/p>\n
For-profit management companies have inserted themselves into that process ever since, becoming almost synonymous with the owners\u2019 corporations that hire them. But in Victoria, only complexes with more than 100 occupiable lots are required by law to have a manager. They account for just 1% of schemes nationally, while 84% have 10 lots or fewer. Despite about 40% of strata complexes being self-managed, according to industry estimates, they remain largely invisible players in the strata system.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople believe they need strata managers in many cases where they don\u2019t,\u201d says Adam Promnitz, the founder of advocacy group Strata Owners Alliance. That perception, he says, is coupled with \u201can arrogance within the industry that they\u2019re infallible or that they are indispensable\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of the managers, it\u2019s almost like they think they\u2019re the CEO of the building or the boss of the building, whereas they actually work for the owners.\u201d<\/p>\n
The alliance was founded in 2019 by Promnitz and another Victorian, Kym Murphy, who had one thing in common: each had successfully sacked their paid managers and administered their owners\u2019 corporations themselves. The group\u2019s founding principle was grassroots empowerment through knowledge. \u201cLet\u2019s just get owners together who can share tips, information, advice,\u201d Promnitz says.<\/p>\n
The industry\u2019s main lobby group recently advocated for changes to Victorian law to make it mandatory for strata schemes with more than 10 lots to appoint a professional manager. Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAP<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s now a registered charity, for many years the alliance was a humble Facebook group \u2013 which is how I found it. I was looking for something like a DIY handbook: how to self-manage your building, perhaps a checklist of tasks to set everything up. But no such thing existed \u2013 neither in the depths of Consumer Affairs Victoria\u2019s labyrinthine website, nor in my search feeds. Promising sources that looked independent almost invariably turned out to be businesses angling for contracts.<\/p>\n
The industry\u2019s main lobby group, the Strata Community Association (SCA), says it represents the interests of owners and tenants, as well as management companies. But the Victorian branch\u2019s 2024-2026 strategic plan<\/a>, in an industry analysis, listed \u201cowners\u2019 groups\u201d under \u201cthreats\u201d. It recently advocated for changes to Victorian law to make it mandatory for strata schemes with more than 10 lots to appoint a professional manager. SCA Vic was approached for comment.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s self-evident to everybody but the industry how much of an issue there is with the industry,\u201d says Promnitz. \u201cThe industry itself is almost completely blind to the level of discontent [from owners] and the amount of change which is required.\u201d<\/p>\n Submissions to a recent Victorian government expert review of the Owners Corporations Act were filled with examples of what could go wrong. They detailed managers receiving huge commissions for securing building insurance; hidden financial relationships between managers and brokers or contractors; unlawful or extortionate fees; and unlawfully withholding access to details, including owners\u2019 corporation records or funds, even after their contract had been terminated. They also mentioned \u201cproxy-farming\u201d \u2013 collecting absent owners\u2019 proxy votes \u2013 in order to influence meeting outcomes.<\/p>\n
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