Glossary
The words we use
Owners corporation, body corporate, strata and OC all mean the same thing on this site. Here are the other words, in plain English.
The building and the people
- Owners corporation
- The legal body made up of every lot owner in a subdivided building or estate. In Victoria the law calls it an owners corporation; people also say body corporate, strata, or OC. We use owners corporation.
- Lot
- The part of the building you own, such as an apartment, a townhouse or a car space.
- Common property
- The parts everyone shares: the lifts, the roof, the gardens, the pool, the pipes between lots.
- Committee
- The owners elected to run the owners corporation between general meetings.
- Manager
- A business the owners corporation pays to run its affairs. Often called the strata manager or owners corporation manager.
- Occupier
- Someone who lives or works in a lot without owning it, such as a tenant.
The register
- Notice
- A short, factual record lodged here by a party to a dispute: who lodged it, the category, the date and the status. Not a finding by anyone.
- Lodger
- The person who lodged a notice. Legally responsible for it.
- Statutory declaration
- A written statement you sign in front of a person the law allows to witness it, such as a pharmacist or a lawyer, declaring that it is true. Knowingly making a false one is a criminal offence.
- Supporting document
- One document tied to the dispute, such as an invoice, a letter of demand, a termination letter or a tribunal application reference.
- Right of reply
- The free reply, of about 150 words, that the party named in a notice can give. Published beside the notice.
- Status, as at a date
- What the parties say the position is, on a stated date. Always check the current position yourself before relying on it.
- Watch a building
- Being emailed when a notice is lodged, replied to or resolved on a building you name. Free.
- Report a problem
- The form anyone can use to tell us something about a notice is wrong. Acted on within seven days.
The law and the paperwork
- VCAT
- The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which hears owners corporation disputes.
- Owners corporation certificate
- The document an owners corporation must give, on request, setting out fees, funds, insurance, legal proceedings and other prescribed matters about the owners corporation.
- Section 32 statement
- The statement a seller of land in Victoria must give a buyer before the contract is signed. For a lot in an owners corporation it includes a current owners corporation certificate or the same information.
- Launch period
- The first period of the register in Victoria. During the Victorian launch period, lodging a notice is free. Searching is free. Replying is free. Removing or correcting your own notice is free. Any change to lodging fees will be announced on this page in advance.
Next step
Have a dispute with or about an owners corporation? Register your matter and a person will contact you within two business days. Want to know if a notice is lodged on a building? Watch it, free.