Strata management in Canterbury

The fastest change in the set

At the 2021 Census, Canterbury's occupied private dwellings broke down like this:

• 62.8%Flats or apartments
• 29.3%Separate houses
• 6.3%Semi-detached or townhouses

The number worth noticing is the movement. At the 2016 Census the apartment share was around half. By 2021 it was close to two thirds. Canterbury did not drift into being a strata suburb; it converted quickly, and a lot of its buildings are young enough that defect liability, builder warranty and the original developer's decisions are still live issues rather than history.

Canterbury-Bankstown Council has also completed a Canterbury station masterplan with capacity for roughly 3,200 new homes, so the direction has not reversed.

Sources: ABS 2021 Census QuickStats, Canterbury (SAL10796); NSW Department of Planning.

The Cooks River is a strata issue, not just a view

Buildings along the Cooks River corridor sit in flood-affected land. For an owners corporation that is not an abstract planning label. It shows up in three concrete places:

• Insurance. Flood is often treated separately from storm in a strata policy. It can be excluded, sub-limited, or carry its own excess. Whether your building is covered for it is a question with a specific answer, and every committee near the river should know that answer rather than assume it.
• Capital works. Basement drainage, sump pumps, backflow prevention and waterproofing at the lowest level are the components that fail first and cost most. They belong in the 10-year capital works fund plan explicitly, not folded into a general maintenance line.
• Renovation approvals. Work at ground and basement level in a flood corridor can attract conditions that would not apply two streets away. An owner's minor renovation application is the point to catch that, not afterwards.

None of this means a riverside building is a bad building. It means the questions are different, and a managing agent who treats Canterbury like any other suburb will not be asking them.

What we do for Canterbury schemes

Thinking about changing agency?

The free quote comes back in writing, with our fee, the disbursements alongside it, and a plain read of your levies, capital works forecast and last AGM papers. If your building is near the river we will also tell you what we can see about its insurance position. Our FAQ covers the usual questions first.

See all the areas we service across Canterbury-Bankstown and South-West Sydney.