Prompted by the introduction of the new legislation associated with the Owners' Corporations Act (Vic), Rider Levett Bucknall - Advisory has recently been engaged by various Owners' Corporation representatives to prepare maintenance plans.
Rider Levett Bucknall have drawn up a number of maintenance plans for iconic Melbourne buildings, such as:
The Owners' Corporations Act (Vic) came into effect in Victoria on 31st December 2007, The regulations associated with the Act form part of the new legislative framework relating to the management of common property and the function of Bodies Corporate which are now referred to as 'Owners Corporations' (OC) under the new Victorian legislation.
The main purposes of the Act are to:
As with former Bodies Corporate, an OC is automatically created following the registration of a plan of subdivision which contains common property.
Under the Act there are three tiers of OCs, two of which relate to smaller lots and one which relates to OCs that have annual fees in excess of $200,000 in a financial year, or more than 100 lots and are known as 'Prescribed Owners Corporations'.
Prescribed OCs have specific obligations imposed on them, one of which is to ensure that a 'maintenance plan' is prepared for the property forecasting over a ten year period. In spite of the name, the plan can act as a Sinking Fund and addresses forecast capital replacements rather than maintenance items.
The Owners' Corporations Act and associated legislative framework is State based and obligations imposed on Owners Corporations or Bodies Corporate vary from State to State.
For details relating to legislation in each State, please contact your local Rider Levett Bucknall office. Details can be found on the Oceania Contacts page of www.rlb.com