What Does a Strata Report Actually Include — and What Should You Be Looking For?

If you’re buying an apartment or townhouse in NSW, the strata report is the most important document you haven’t read. Not because it’s complicated. Because it’s long — 80 to 250 pages of financial records, meeting minutes, defect reports, insurance certificates, and legal filings — and because most buyers skim it the night before they’re supposed to exchange.

This guide explains what’s actually in a strata report, which sections matter most, and what warning signs to look for before you commit.

What Is a Strata Report?

A strata report (sometimes called a strata inspection report or owners corporation records search) is a disclosure document prepared before the sale of a strata property in NSW.

Under the Conveyancing (Sale of Land) Regulation 2022, vendors are required to include certain strata records with the contract of sale. A strata report goes further — it is typically ordered by the buyer’s solicitor or conveyancer from a strata records search company, giving access to the full records held by the strata manager.

The records in a strata report are generated by the owners corporation — the legal entity that manages the building — not by the vendor or real estate agent.

What Is in a Strata Report?

1. Financial Records

This section includes:

• Administrative fund — the operational account that pays for day-to-day building costs (cleaning, utilities, maintenance)
• Sinking fund — the capital reserve account for major repairs and replacements (roof, lifts, facade)
• 10-year sinking fund forecast — a projection of how much will be needed and when
• Levy register — a history of quarterly levy payments and any outstanding amounts

What to look for: whether the sinking fund balance matches the 10-year forecast, and whether there are outstanding levies from other lot owners (which can indicate financial stress in the building).

2. Special Levy Notices

Special levies are one-off charges passed by the owners corporation to fund work the sinking fund cannot cover. They appear in the meeting minutes — not in the financial summary.

A special levy can be passed before you buy and still be your liability from settlement. A $60,000 remediation levy on a 30-lot block is $2,000 per lot. This number will not appear in the agent’s marketing.

3. Defect Register

The defect register lists known building defects and outstanding remediation work. Every defect should have a status (unresolved, in progress, resolved) and an estimated cost.

The important comparison: defect register total vs. sinking fund balance. If the known defects exceed what’s in the fund, either a special levy is coming or the work isn’t being done.

4. AGM and EGM Minutes

Annual General Meeting and Extraordinary General Meeting minutes are where the owners corporation makes its decisions — levy increases, major works approvals, legal actions, and special levies.

Reading the last 2–3 years of minutes tells you more about the health of a building than the financial summary does. Look for recurring items, disputed resolutions, and any agenda items that were deferred rather than voted on.

5. NCAT Proceedings

NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal proceedings are legal disputes involving the strata scheme — between lot owners and the owners corporation, or between owners.

Active NCAT proceedings transfer with the property. If there is an ongoing dispute about a defect, a renovation approval, or water ingress liability, you are buying into that dispute.

6. Insurance

The strata insurance schedule shows:

• The insurer and policy number
• Replacement value (what the building is insured for)
• Claims history (last 3–5 years of claims, open or settled)
• Whether common property improvements and lot owner improvements are covered

An underinsured building or a history of repeated claims for the same issue (water ingress, fire safety, structural movement) is a material risk.

7. By-Laws

The by-laws govern what owners can and cannot do with their lot — renovations, pets, short-term letting, parking. By-law breaches by other lot owners are an owners corporation enforcement matter.

Check whether there are active by-law breach notices or unresolved complaints in the records.

8. Lot Entitlements

Unit entitlements determine your share of the quarterly levy. They are not equal across all lots.

If you are buying a larger or higher-floor apartment, your entitlement ratio may be significantly higher than the average. Calculate your actual quarterly levy from the schedule of unit entitlements, not from the agent’s estimate.

What Are the Biggest Red Flags?

From forensic review of NSW strata reports, these are the issues that most frequently present material financial or legal risk:

• Special levy passed within 24 months, amount not disclosed by agent
• Sinking fund balance less than 50% of defect register total
• Ongoing NCAT proceedings involving structural or water ingress claims
• Insurance claims for the same category of defect more than once in 5 years
• 10-year sinking fund forecast showing a shortfall by year 3–5
• AGM minutes with deferred votes on major works (a deferred vote is often a dispute)

How Long Does It Take to Read a Strata Report?

A thorough reading of a 150-page strata report — cross-referencing financials, defects, minutes, and insurance — takes 4 to 8 hours for someone who knows what they’re looking for.

Most buyers have less than 10 days between receipt of the strata report and exchange. Most are also working, managing the finance process, and reviewing the contract of sale at the same time.