← Back Sellers · 7 min read

Selling a Strata Title Property in Brisbane: What Owners Need to Know

Units and townhouses in Brisbane's inner east come with a layer of body corporate documentation and disclosure that house sales don't require. Here is what to gather and what buyers will scrutinise.

A significant proportion of Brisbane's inner east trades as strata title: units in New Farm, apartments overlooking the river in Bulimba, townhouses in Hawthorne and Morningside. Selling these properties involves a different set of obligations and preparation compared to a standard house sale. Buyers, and the banks financing them, will ask for documentation that does not exist in a Torrens title transaction, and some of that documentation can take weeks to obtain if you leave it too late. Understanding the process before your campaign launches will save you time and prevent delays at a critical point.

What you are actually selling

When you sell a strata lot, you are transferring ownership of your individual lot, which is typically defined as the airspace within the interior walls, floor and ceiling of your unit or apartment, plus a share of the body corporate that collectively owns the common property. The body corporate owns the driveways, carparks, hallways, gardens, pools, external facades, roofing, and shared infrastructure. Your buyer does not just buy your apartment: they buy into the scheme, including its financial position, its governance, and any future capital obligations that the committee has planned or that the building will require.

This is why sophisticated buyers and their solicitors look at strata documentation carefully. A well-run body corporate with healthy finances and a well-funded sinking fund is a genuinely better asset than one with deferred maintenance and depleted reserves, and buyers know it.

The body corporate information certificate

In Queensland, sellers of strata lots are required to provide buyers with a body corporate information certificate, issued under the Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997. This is commonly called a Form 14 and it is a mandatory disclosure document. It must be provided before the buyer signs the contract, and the contract is not binding without it.

The Form 14 sets out the current levy amounts, the balance of the administrative and sinking funds, any outstanding debts on the lot, details of any current or pending litigation involving the body corporate, and whether there are any known defects or orders affecting the scheme. It is issued by the body corporate secretary or, more commonly, the body corporate manager.

The time it takes to obtain a Form 14 varies. A well-administered scheme with an active professional manager can typically produce one within three to five business days of the formal request. A smaller, self-managed body corporate may take considerably longer. If you are in a self-managed scheme, contact the secretary as early as possible once you have decided to sell, and factor in delays. Missing or delayed Form 14s are one of the most common causes of contract complications in strata sales.

What else buyers will want to see

Beyond the Form 14, buyers and their solicitors routinely request additional body corporate documentation during the contract period. This typically includes the minutes from the most recent annual general meeting, minutes from any extraordinary general meetings or committee meetings held in the last 12 to 24 months, the current financial statements, the levy payment schedule, and details of the sinking fund balance and any approved capital works.

Buyers who are paying attention will look through AGM minutes carefully. Recurring discussion of the same maintenance issue, unresolved disputes between lot owners, or a pattern of deferred decisions about significant repairs are all visible in the minutes. An annual report showing a sinking fund that has been declining for three consecutive years tells a story that a buyer's solicitor will flag.

You do not have to wait for the buyer to request this information. Gathering it before your campaign launches allows you to understand your building's position and to answer buyer questions with confidence. It also reduces the risk of a buyer discovering something unflattering mid-campaign that delays the process or gives them grounds to renegotiate.

Special levies and anticipated capital works

One of the most significant issues in strata sales is special levies. A special levy is an additional charge raised by the body corporate outside the normal quarterly levy schedule, typically to fund a major repair or capital works project that the sinking fund cannot cover. If a special levy has been passed by resolution but not yet fully paid, the outstanding obligation transfers to the buyer at settlement unless the contract specifies otherwise. This is a negotiating point and it needs to be addressed explicitly.

Even if no special levy is currently active, buyers will want to understand whether one is anticipated. If the AGM minutes show ongoing discussion about a defective car park structure, a roof that is approaching end of life, or lifts that need replacement, a buyer who reads those minutes carefully will ask whether a levy is coming. The honest answer is almost always that you do not know precisely, but you can point to what the minutes say and what the committee has been discussing.

If you are aware of a significant capital works project that is likely to result in a special levy, disclose it. Queensland's property law imposes disclosure obligations on sellers, and concealing known material facts can expose you to claims after settlement. Your solicitor will advise you on the specific disclosure requirements, but the practical rule is straightforward: if it would affect a reasonable buyer's decision, it needs to be disclosed.

How levies and body corporate finances affect buyer finance

Buyers obtaining bank finance need to factor body corporate levies into their borrowing capacity assessment. Lenders calculate serviceability based on total housing costs, not just the loan repayment. Quarterly levies of $2,000 to $3,000 represent a meaningful ongoing cost, and lenders will include them in their assessment. For buyers at the edge of their borrowing capacity, high levies can reduce the amount they can borrow, which in turn affects the price they can offer.

Lenders also look at the body corporate's financial position when assessing risk. Some banks will not lend on strata properties where the sinking fund is materially deficient relative to the building's maintenance requirements. If your building has a poorly funded sinking fund, it may genuinely limit the pool of buyers who can obtain conventional finance, which affects your sale price and campaign outcome. This is not something you can control directly as a lot owner, but it is useful context for setting realistic price expectations.

Defects in newer strata buildings

In recent years, a number of newly completed strata buildings in Queensland have experienced defect disputes between body corporates and builders or developers. If your building is within ten years of completion, check whether your body corporate has engaged a building defect consultant or initiated any formal defect claims. This information will be visible in committee minutes and financial statements, and buyers or their solicitors will look for it.

Active defect disputes do not necessarily prevent a sale, but they need to be disclosed and they will affect how buyers value the property. A building mid-way through a defect rectification process may ultimately be in better structural shape than a comparable building where the issues were never properly addressed, but the uncertainty of the process makes some buyers cautious. Your solicitor's guidance on how to present an active defect situation is important.

Preparing to sell: practical steps

Before listing, contact your body corporate manager and request the current Form 14, the most recent set of financials, the last two years of AGM and committee minutes, and the current levy schedule including the sinking fund balance. Review these documents before they go to buyers. If there are issues visible in the documents that are likely to affect buyer sentiment, discuss with your agent and solicitor how to address them or how to present the campaign appropriately.

Ensure your own levy contributions are up to date. Outstanding levy arrears appear on the Form 14 and will need to be settled at or before settlement. A lot owner who is behind on levies creates an awkward conversation early in the sale process that is easily avoided.

A strata property in a well-run building, properly presented and with transparent documentation, competes effectively with comparable house sales in Brisbane's inner east. The extra layer of body corporate due diligence is not a barrier for informed buyers. It is a process that, managed properly, reinforces buyer confidence rather than undermining it.