Most plans of subdivision contain reference to a single owners corporation. However, sometimes multiple owners corporations can be on a single plan. If you haven’t done so already, we recommend that you read our articles on Plans of Subdivision and Lot liability and lot entitlement before reading any further.
Where there are multiple owners corporations on a single plan, they will be will be numbered, with the plan number first, and the number of the owners corporation at the end. For example, where the plan number is PSXXXXXXA with three owners corporation on the plan, Owners Corporations 1, 2 and 3 will be numbered PSXXXXXXA1, PSXXXXXXA2 and PSXXXXXXA3 respectively.
The plan of subdivision will refer to areas owned by ‘Common Property No. 1’ and ‘Common Property No. 2’ etc. The common property numbered areas correlate to the owners corporation numbers. That is:
Owners Corporation PSXXXXXXA1, usually referred to as ‘OC1’, is responsible for all areas marked on the plan of subdivision as Common Property No. 1.
Owners Corporation PSXXXXXXA2, usually referred to as ‘OC2’, is responsible for all areas marked on the plan of subdivision as Common Property No. 2.
Owners Corporation PSXXXXXXA3, usually referred to as ‘OC3’, is responsible for all areas marked on the plan of subdivision as Common Property No. 3.
This can continue for as many owners corporations exist on the plan.
Multiple owners corporations are created on a single plan, to ensure that owners are only paying for the common facilities of which they are entitled.
The most common setup with multiple owners corporations is where there are two buildings in the same precinct, where some common areas are shared, and others are seperate.
Let’s imagine a 2 building precinct, with a basement car park, and a swimming pool and the garden area on the ground level between the two buildings. Residents of building A cannot access Building B, and vice versa, yet everyone uses the same basement car park, and everyone has access to the swimming pool and garden.
The shared facilities which affects would be part of OC1. The car park, the garden, the pool, and the internal plumbing.
The corridors, lifts, and intercoms in Building A would be part of OC2.
The corridors, lifts, and intercoms in Building B would be part of OC3.
Any owner in Building A would be a member of OC1 and OC2, while any owner in Building B would be a member of OC1 and OC3.
This means that if the car park roller door needs replacing, it is an expense for OC1 and hence every owner will need to contribute to the costs. If the lift in Building A needs replacing, this is an expense for OC2, which means only the owners in Building A contribute to the cost of replacement. The owners in Building B, who do not have access to that lift and have never used it, aren’t responsible.
Separate owners corporations are separate entities.
Each owners corporation is its own business. It will have its own ABN (if applicable). It will need its own AGM. It will need its own bank account. It will have its own financial statements. It will have its own committee (if applicable). Each owners corporation needs to have its own management contract. They are completely quarantined from each other.
There is a separate liability and entitlement schedule for each owners corporation.
If you are a member of more than one owners corporation, you will receive more than one fee notice whenever they are issued.
While this may seem unnecessarily complicated, it means that owners only pay for what they are entitled to use, and other owners who do not use those services are not able to impose decisions on them. For example, an owner affected by only OC1 and OC2 does not have a say in the raising of fees, or the expenditure of money, or the policies, of OC3.
For more information, speak to your owners corporation manager, or contact Melb OC.