Strata levies in Perth, explained in seven parts

Ask ten buyers what strata levies pay for and you will get ten answers, most of them hazy. It is worth pinning down, because levies are one of the few holding costs on an apartment, villa or townhouse that a buyer can check precisely before committing, and one of the first things a seller gets asked.

The short answer is that levies fund two things: running the scheme day to day, and building up money for the big jobs that are coming. Everything else depends on what kind of strata scheme you are in, and on how many lots it has.

It is a lot to take in at once, so we have set it out in six short parts. Read them in order if you are new to strata, or jump to the one you need.

The six parts

• Part 1. Which kind of strata scheme is it? Built strata, survey-strata, single-tier and multi-tier. Start here, because the rest depends on it.
• Part 2. What your strata levies actually pay for. The administrative fund, the reserve fund, how your share is worked out, and what is not covered.
• Part 3. Who insures the building? The biggest surprise in strata. In a built scheme the strata company insures the building itself. In survey-strata you insure your own.
• Part 4. What changes with the size of the scheme. What applies at 2 lots, at 3 to 5, at 10 or more, and the value trap that catches small schemes.
• Part 5. How to read a 10-year plan. The four numbers to find, and how to tell whether levies are about to rise or hold.
• Part 6. By-laws, and what unpaid levies mean at settlement. The two categories of by-law, and why arrears can arrive with the lot.
• Part 7. What a seller must tell you before you sign, and when you can walk away
  Section 156 disclosure, notifiable variations, and the short clocks that decide whether a buyer can avoid a contract.

The short version, if you only read this page

• Levies feed two funds. The administrative fund runs the scheme. The reserve fund saves for the big jobs.
• Your share is set by unit entitlement, not by floor area and not by what you paid.
• In a built strata scheme the strata company insures the whole building. In a survey-strata scheme you insure your own dwelling.
• A scheme with 10 or more lots must have a reserve fund and a 10-year plan. So must a smaller scheme worth more than $5,000,000 to rebuild.
• A low levy is not automatically good news. It is often deferred news.
• Unpaid levies can follow the lot to the new owner, so check the position before settlement.

What this means when you buy or sell

For buyers, look at what the levy funds and what the scheme has put away, not just the number on the notice. Our rent or buy calculator takes levies as an input for exactly this reason, and our buyer’s guide covers what else to ask for.

For sellers, have the levy notices, the certificate of currency, the registered by-laws, the budget and the most recent AGM minutes together before you go to market. In a strata sale the buyer questions are always the same ones, and answering them on the spot keeps a campaign moving. It is why we send an information pack with strata fees, rates and a floor plan as soon as someone enquires on an apartment, villa or townhouse.

If you want to know what the levies and the scheme paperwork mean for the price your property would achieve, ask us for an appraisal and we will go through it with you.

Where this comes from

The rules across this series are from the Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA) and the Strata Titles (General) Regulations 2019, as they stand in August 2026. Landgate publishes plain-language guides on the same material.

This series 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. If something turns on it, check the scheme documents or get advice.