Which kind of strata scheme is it? Built strata, survey-strata and why it matters

This is part one of a series on strata levies and strata paperwork in Perth, written for people buying, selling or simply trying to work out what they own.

We start here because almost every other question depends on the answer. Two apartments can look identical, sit in the same street, and be governed completely differently, because the plan underneath them is a different kind of plan.

Two forms of scheme

Western Australia has two forms of strata scheme under the Strata Titles Act 1985.

A built strata scheme defines lot boundaries by reference to the building shown on the strata plan, which is made up of a floor plan and a location plan. Everything inside the parcel that is not part of a lot is common property, so the structure, the roof, the stairwells, the driveway and the gardens usually are.

A survey-strata scheme has lots surveyed and marked out by a licensed surveyor and shown on a survey-strata plan. The plan shows no buildings at all. It reads much like an ordinary freehold subdivision. Common property, where there is any, is shown and numbered separately, and is often just the shared driveway.

That single difference drives the biggest surprise in strata, which is who insures the building. Part three deals with it properly.

Single-tier and multi-tier

Cutting across the two forms is whether the scheme is single-tier or multi-tier. A single tier strata scheme is one where no lot, or part of a lot, sits above or below another lot. Villas and most single-storey duplexes are single-tier. Walk-up flats and apartment buildings are multi-tier.

This matters because Schedule 2A of the Act carries a separate set of insurance rules that apply only to single-tier schemes. It is a common mistake to think those rules are about small schemes. They are not. A two-storey duplex with one lot above the other is not single-tier and does not get them.

Freehold and leasehold

A scheme can also be freehold or leasehold. In a leasehold scheme, lots are held under a strata lease for a fixed term. Leasehold is a second axis rather than a third type, since a leasehold scheme can be either built or survey-strata.

Community titles schemes are a different regime again, under the Community Titles Act 2018, and work differently from everything described in this series.

How to tell which one you have

Look at the plan itself, which is in the strata information pack. If it shows a building with a floor plan, it is a built strata scheme. If it shows surveyed land with dimensions and no building, it is survey-strata. The plan number is usually written as SP followed by a number.

If you are not sure, ask us. It takes about ten seconds to tell from the plan and it changes the answer to almost everything else.

The whole series

• Part 1. Which kind of strata scheme is it? (you are here)
• Part 2. What your strata levies actually pay for
• Part 3. Who insures the building?
• Part 4. What changes with the size of the scheme
• Part 5. How to read a 10-year plan
• Part 6. By-laws, and what unpaid levies mean at settlement
• Part 7. What a seller must tell you before you sign

This article is general information about how strata schemes work in Western Australia. It is not legal, financial or tax advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the scheme plan and the registered by-laws for the particular scheme. Rules change and every scheme differs. If something turns on it, check the scheme documents or get advice.