A strata scheme is a building or group of buildings that have been divided into lots. These lots may be individual apartments, office, industrial, commercial or retail units, townhouses, or houses.

When a person buys a lot, they also share ownership of common property with other lot owners. This may include shared gardens, external walls, roofs, driveways, and stairwells. All lot owners are members of the owner’s corporation, which owns and manages the common property. An owner’s corporation is automatically created when a strata plan is registered.

Strata title allows individual ownership of part of a property (called a lot and generally an apartment or townhouse), combined with shared ownership in the remainder (called ‘Common Property’ e.g. foyers, driveways, gardens) through a legal entity called the owners corporation or body corporate. In Sydney strata now accounts for more than half of all residential sales and leases because of its popularity with investors. An increasing number of commercial and retail properties are also strata titled.

Developments that can exist under strata plans can be: