What is a section 184 certificate?
A section 184 certificate is a formal statement issued by the owners corporation under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), setting out the levies payable on a lot, any arrears, and the scheme's financial position.
It is the authoritative document about money, and it is different from a strata inspection report. An inspection report is somebody's summary of the records they were shown. A section 184 certificate is the owners corporation stating its own position, and it can be relied on.
If you have seen references to a "section 109 certificate", that was the equivalent under the older Strata Schemes Management Act 1996. The 2015 Act renumbered it. Older guides and some agents still use the old name.
- The contributions (levies) payable on the lot and when they are due.
- Any amount unpaid on the lot, including interest.
- The balances of the administrative and capital works funds.
- Whether a special levy has been struck, and what remains payable.
- Any notices, orders or proceedings the owners corporation knows of.
A strata inspection report and a section 184 certificate answer different questions. The certificate tells you what is owed. The inspection report tells you what the minutes, correspondence and accounts reveal about how the scheme is run — which is where defects, disputes and deferred works show up.
Both are dated. A certificate obtained two months ago does not tell you what happened at last week's meeting, which is why conveyancers usually order a fresh one close to settlement.
What to ask
Copy these into an email. The people below can answer them; we can’t.
- To your conveyancer: do we hold a current section 184 certificate, and how old is it relative to settlement?
- To your conveyancer: does the certificate disclose anything the inspection report did not, or the other way round?
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Related
General information about what these documents say — not legal, building or financial advice, and not a substitute for your conveyancer, solicitor or licensed inspector. Law and practice change, schemes differ, and your contract may say something different from the general position described here.