How to Write to Your Strata Manager or Body Corporate (and Actually Get a Reply)

Strata is having a loud moment in Australia, and not a comfortable one. On 19 October 2026 the NSW parliament passed its fourth round of strata reforms, the Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment (Miscellaneous) Bill 2025, which the government says reaches more than 1.2 million apartment and duplex residents, according to Build Australia. The reforms will not fix the leak over your bedroom or the records your manager keeps forgetting to send. One clear letter often will. Claim Done drafts a Letter to the Strata Manager or Body Corporate for a flat $29, in the right terms for your state, so your request lands as something the committee can act on instead of another message that drifts to the bottom of an inbox.

Why the first letter does the heavy lifting

Most strata problems do not need a complaint. They need a request that is specific enough to act on. A committee is a handful of volunteers who meet every few weeks, and a manager is juggling dozens of buildings at once. A phone call or a grumble in the lift leaves nothing behind. A letter that names your lot, sets out the facts with dates, and asks for one clear thing gives them something they can put on the agenda, minute, and chase. It also starts the clock: the day you asked is now on the record, which matters if the problem drags on.

There is a second reason to write rather than ring. Strata managers are under more scrutiny than they have been in years. The NSW changes that took effect on 1 October 2026 now require new and returning committee members to complete free annual training, and relieve two-lot schemes such as duplexes of some reporting, per the NSW Government strata guide. A written request from an owner or tenant fits that world better than a verbal one. It is harder to lose and harder to ignore.

Use the words your state uses

This is where most letters go wrong before they say anything. Australia does not have one strata system; it has eight, and each has its own names for the body, the committee and the rules. Address your letter to a Victorian committee in Queensland language and you look like you do not know your own building.

• New South Wales: the owners corporation, the strata committee, the strata manager, the by-laws.
• Victoria: the owners corporation, the committee, the owners corporation manager, and the rules (Victoria does not use “by-laws”).
• Queensland: the body corporate, the body corporate committee, the body corporate manager, the by-laws.
• Western Australia: the strata company, the council of the strata company, the strata manager, the by-laws.
• South Australia: the strata corporation, the management committee, and the scheme’s rules.
• Tasmania: the body corporate, the committee of management, the by-laws.
• Australian Capital Territory: the owners corporation, the executive committee, and the rules.
• Northern Territory: the body corporate, the committee, and the scheme’s rules.

Whoever actually handles your building, use their name once you have it. If a managing agent signs the notices, write to the agent by name and copy the secretary or committee. One thing is the same everywhere: the shared parts of the building, the roof, the lifts, the foyer, the external walls and usually the balconies, are common property, and keeping them in repair is the body’s job, not yours.

What goes in the letter

Keep it to one page where you can. The structure that works is boring on purpose.

1. Who you are and where. Your name, your lot or unit number, the building and address, and the plan or scheme number if you know it. “Lot 12 (Unit 5), Parkview, 8 Hill Road, Strata Plan 12345” tells them exactly who is writing without a database lookup.
2. What it is about, in the subject line. “Lift repair, Lot 12” or “Request for copies of the last two financial statements”. One glance should tell them the category.
3. The facts, with dates. When did the lift stop. How long has the foyer light been flickering. What did the plumber say and when. Facts and dates do the persuading; adjectives do not.
4. The one thing you want done. Name it plainly, and a date only if you genuinely have one in mind. “Please arrange the repair and let owners know when it will be done” beats “please fix this urgently”.
5. Whether you have raised it before. If you emailed on 5 September and heard nothing, say so in a neutral half-sentence. You do not need to editorialise; the dates speak.
6. A reply in writing. Ask them to respond in writing so you both have a record.

Then pick a tone and stick to it. Friendly works when the relationship is fine and you simply need movement. Firm works when it is the second or third time. Formal works when you want it to read like a document for the file.

The five requests this covers

Most owner and tenant letters fall into one of five buckets, and each wants a slightly different ask.

• A common property repair. Describe the fault and its history, and ask them to arrange the repair and tell owners when. Resist the urge to fix it yourself and bill them; you usually cannot touch common property without approval, and doing so can put you in the wrong.
• Records or documents. List exactly what you want to see or copy, the minutes, the financial statements, the insurance certificate, the maintenance plan, and ask how and when you can get them.
• A by-law or rule question. Ask the question plainly using your state’s word for the rules. You are seeking an answer, not a ruling.
• A problem with another lot. Describe what happens and when, ask them to look into it, and do not name-and-shame or demand a breach notice. That is the committee’s call, not yours to dictate.
• Approval for work on your lot. Describe the work and ask what the committee needs in order to consider it: plans, a contractor’s details, an insurance certificate. Giving them the checklist speeds up the yes.

The mistakes that get a letter ignored

Threats are the big one. The moment a first letter mentions a tribunal, a lawyer or “further action”, a volunteer committee stops reading like neighbours and starts reading like a defendant, and everything slows down. A first request is not the place for it. Vagueness is the next trap: “please sort out the building” gives them nothing to do. So is writing to the wrong body, chasing the manager when the decision sits with the committee, or the reverse. Leaving out dates turns a clear timeline into your word against theirs. And trying to repair common property yourself, then asking to be reimbursed, hands them an easy reason to say no.

If the letter does not work

Sometimes it does not, and the owners corporation sits on a repair it is required to do. That is roughly what happened to a Canberra owner whose balcony flooded the rooms below three times; the committee installed a small spout instead of the fix an expert recommended, and the matter ended up at the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. When a request has been made properly and ignored, the next step is a formal one. Claim Done drafts a Strata / Body Corporate Complaint for $49, for a dispute about repairs, by-laws, levies or how the scheme is run. If the real issue is a repair inside your own rental rather than common property, a Tenant Repair or Breach Notice to your landlord or agent may be the better document. Claim Done is not a law firm; it drafts the document from your answers and you decide what to do with it.

How Claim Done drafts your strata letter

You answer a short set of questions: your state, what the letter is about, whether you own or rent, who it goes to, your lot and scheme details, the facts and dates, and what you want done. Claim Done’s document engine turns that into a clean one-page letter in the correct terms for your state, with no legal jargon and no threats, in the tone you choose. It takes a few minutes. The price is a flat $29 with no subscription, which is the kind of thing people quietly spend hours drafting badly on a Sunday night.

You read the letter first. Once you approve it, Claim Done can email it straight to the manager or committee for you, or you can download it and send it yourself. Nothing goes out until you say so. There is no retainer and nothing to cancel later. For the full range and prices, see all services and pricing.

If a repair, a records request or an approval has stalled, write the letter today while the dates are fresh. Start your strata letter on Claim Done, answer the questions, and you will have a letter ready to approve in minutes, addressed to the right body in the right words for your building.

Frequently asked questions

Should I write to the strata manager or the committee?

Write to whoever handles the issue. The managing agent usually deals with day-to-day requests like repairs and records, so address it to the agent by name and copy the committee secretary. Decisions about money, by-laws or approvals often rest with the committee, so for those, name the committee as well.

Do I have to quote the law or a by-law number?

No, and a first letter is better without it. You are making a request, not building a case. State what you want and the facts behind it. If you already know the relevant by-law or rule number you can mention it, but you do not need to, and naming Acts or sections tends to make a volunteer committee defensive.

Can a tenant write to the body corporate, or only an owner?

A tenant can write. Your letter simply says whether you are an owner, an owner who rents the lot out, a tenant or another resident. For a repair inside your rental that is not common property, a repair request to your landlord or agent is usually the right document instead.

How much does the strata letter cost and when is it sent?

The Letter to the Strata Manager or Body Corporate is a flat $29. You review and approve the draft first. Once you approve it, Claim Done can email it to the manager or committee for you, or you can download it and send it yourself. Nothing is sent until you approve it.

What if they still do nothing after my letter?

If a proper written request is ignored, the next step is a formal complaint, and for some disputes the state tribunal that hears strata matters. Claim Done drafts a Strata or Body Corporate Complaint for $29 covering repairs, by-laws, levies or how the scheme is run. Check the current fees and time limits on your tribunal's own website.