Short answer
A strata inspection report is a review of an owners corporation’s records — finances, insurance, meeting minutes, by-laws and defect history — prepared for a prospective buyer to assess the scheme’s health before purchase. It’s one of the most useful due-diligence steps in a strata purchase, because it can reveal problems the apartment itself never shows.
What it covers
- Financial position — levies, administrative and capital works fund balances, and any special levies raised or planned.
- Insurance — whether the building is covered to full replacement value, and any claims on record.
- Minutes and disputes — what recent meetings reveal, including any current NCAT matters.
- By-laws — the rules that will bind you, especially pets, letting, renovations and parking.
- Defects and works — known building defects and major works on the horizon.
Who prepares it and why it matters
A strata inspection report (also called a “strata search”) is usually commissioned by the buyer and carried out by an inspector who examines the owners corporation’s books. Because it draws on the actual records rather than the sales pitch, it can surface a looming special levy, an underfunded capital works fund, or an unresolved defect before you commit — often the difference between a sound purchase and an expensive surprise.
Why good records make a clean report
An inspection report is only as good as the records behind it, and a scheme with scattered or missing records makes for a slow, uncertain search. Where a self-managed scheme runs on a platform such as Straita, the finances, minutes, by-laws and compliance history are already kept in order, so an inspection reads cleanly and a buyer can see exactly what they’re buying into.
Primary sources
- Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW) — records an owners corporation must keep and make available.
- NSW Government — Strata schemes (Fair Trading) — records, disclosure and buying into strata.