Apartment and townhouse complexes may have a body corporate manager, property manager or building manager. These roles are not mandatory in every scheme, and a person or company may sometimes have more than one engagement.
The terms can sound similar, but they describe different responsibilities. Knowing who works for the body corporate, who works for an individual lot owner and who manages building operations can help prevent confusion and disputes.
What is the difference between a body corporate manager and a property manager?
When you buy a lot in a community titles scheme, you own your private lot and share common property and facilities with other owners and occupiers. This may include hallways, driveways, pools and lifts.
The body corporate administers common property and body corporate assets for the benefit of all owners. It also makes decisions about levies, insurance, records and the scheme’s by-laws.
A body corporate manager works for the body corporate. A property manager works for an individual lot owner, usually in relation to renting or managing that owner’s lot.
A building manager has a different role. They may handle the day-to-day operation of the building or its facilities, depending on the services agreed with the body corporate.
A body corporate is not legally required to engage a body corporate manager. It may choose to do so when it needs administrative support.
You can read more about the role in our guide to what is a body corporate manager.
What does a body corporate manager do?
A body corporate manager is appointed to help administer the body corporate. The manager’s role depends on the written engagement with the body corporate and whether the scheme has a committee.
Where there is a committee, the manager can only do what the body corporate asks them to do. The committee and body corporate retain their decision-making powers.
Depending on the engagement, a body corporate manager may provide administrative support such as:
- arranging committee, annual general and extraordinary general meetings
- preparing and sending meeting notices, agendas and minutes
- managing correspondence
- assisting with financial administration
- issuing levy notices
- preparing financial statements and budgets
- preparing contribution notices
- keeping body corporate records
- receiving voting papers
- managing body corporate money where authorised.
These are examples of services a body corporate manager may provide. The engagement contract should explain the manager’s actual duties, authority, payment arrangements and length of the engagement.
A manager may also organise common-property work if the committee asks them to do so. The manager is not automatically responsible for maintaining common property.
Some administrative functions may be delegated to the manager, including calling meetings, sending minutes and managing the body corporate’s money. The committee’s powers are not reduced because a manager has been authorised to perform certain functions.
If there is no committee, a manager may be authorised to carry out committee functions and exercise committee powers. This is different from assisting an elected committee, so owners should check the engagement and the scheme’s records.
Our guide to who’s who in your body corporate explains how these roles can fit together.
What does a property manager do for a lot owner?
A property manager manages an individual lot for its owner. This is especially common when the owner rents out an apartment or townhouse.
A property manager may:
- find and communicate with prospective tenants
- arrange or manage the lease
- inspect the lot
- receive rent
- coordinate repairs and maintenance inside the apartment
- pass tenant requests to the owner
- manage more than one lot in the same development.
The exact service depends on the agreement between the owner and the property manager. The property manager may also need to work with the body corporate when a tenant’s request involves common property, a by-law or an approval.
For example, a tenant may ask to make a change to the lot, keep an animal or use common property in a particular way. The property manager can pass the request to the owner, but the owner’s approval may not be the only approval required. Depending on the by-laws, the body corporate may also need to consider the request.
Tenants should usually raise private lot issues with their landlord or letting agent. They can contact the body corporate about common-property matters. The best contact is often the body corporate manager, onsite manager or a committee member.
What does a building manager do?
A building manager may handle the day-to-day operation of a building and its facilities. They are often onsite, while a body corporate manager may work from an office away from the scheme. However, this is not the case for every building.
Building managers may coordinate contractors and suppliers carrying out maintenance, repairs or upgrades. Depending on their service contract, they may also provide or coordinate services such as:
- security
- cleaning
- facilities maintenance
- access-key services
- other onsite operational tasks.
These services depend on the building manager’s engagement, caretaker agreement or service contract.
A building manager may also act as a property manager, but that would involve a separate engagement and different responsibilities. If the same company performs several roles, the agreements should make clear who it represents for each task.
You can find more information in our guide to caretakers and maintenance responsibilities.
Who should you contact about repairs, tenants and common property?
Start by identifying whether the issue relates to your lot, a tenant or common property.
Repairs inside your lot: Contact the lot owner, landlord or property manager first. The owner of a lot must maintain the lot in good condition, although the exact responsibility can depend on the scheme’s plan of subdivision and regulation module.
Common-property repairs: Contact the body corporate, body corporate manager, onsite manager or committee contact listed for your scheme. The body corporate must maintain common property in a good and structurally sound condition.
Tenant requests: Contact the property manager or landlord for private tenancy matters. For common-property maintenance or a body corporate approval, put the request in writing to the relevant body corporate contact.
Building operations: Contact the building manager where the issue concerns onsite facilities, access or services covered by their engagement.
Responsibility can be difficult to determine where lot boundaries and common property overlap. The registered survey plan and community management statement can help identify the applicable boundaries and regulation module.
How can owners and residents clarify management responsibilities?
Clear communication is one of the simplest ways to reduce confusion. Owners and residents can:
- keep the body corporate manager’s, property manager’s and building manager’s contact details
- ask which organisation is responsible before arranging work
- check the body corporate manager’s written engagement
- read the scheme’s by-laws and community management statement
- put maintenance and approval requests in writing
- keep copies of requests, replies and relevant decisions
- ask whether a request concerns the lot, common property or building operations.
Committees should also explain the boundaries between administrative support and decision-making. A body corporate manager may help organise meetings, records and finances, but the committee and body corporate generally remain responsible for making decisions within their authority.
Body corporate, property and building managers can all have useful roles, but their responsibilities depend on who engaged them and what their agreement covers. If you need help identifying the right contact for your scheme, email our team at reception@stratacare.com.au.
