Owners corporations & committees
We assist with the full range of the corporation’s work: governance, contracts, works, recovery and disputes, whether instructions come from the committee or the general meeting.
Owners corporation lawyers · Melbourne & Victoria
Your building. Our focus.
Proudly based in Southbank, Victoria, Southbank Legal acts for owners corporations, committees, lot owners and OC managers across Victoria.
We bring lived experience and a keen understanding of owners corporation law to provide actionable advice and tangible results for clients.
- Meetings & governance
- Repairs & defects
- Rules & disputes
- VCAT & litigation
Our core principles
The standard every client should expect.
Expert advice
We bring specialist knowledge to the problem, give you a considered recommendation and articulate it clearly, so you understand the issue, your options and the way forward.
Impeccable communication and timeliness
Clients should not have to chase their lawyers for updates. We set clear timeframes, respond promptly, keep you informed and tell you early if circumstances affect the plan.
Value for money
Every step should earn its cost. We focus effort where it advances the outcome, give you visibility of likely fees and avoid unnecessary work and process.
Owners corporation law in Victoria
Owners corporation law is the most complex area of property law in Victoria.
The outcome of your matter can depend on the understanding and application of the Owners Corporations Act, the regulations, the model rules, the plan of subdivision and your building's own registered rules, sometimes all at once.
We navigate that framework every day. We have the experience and the expertise to get you a favourable result, and we explain the issues and the law in plain English at every step.
Who we assist
Advice tailored to your interest in the building.
Lot owners & occupiers
We advise you on your rights and your obligations, and the realistic ways to resolve a problem with the corporation, the OC manager or a neighbour.
Owners corporation managers
We provide responsive support that complements the manager’s role, with authority you can rely on and advice that moves client decisions forward.
Areas of specialty
Advice across the full suite of owners corporation law.
Our specialty areas cover the working whole of the Owners Corporations Act 2006 (Vic): how a building decides, what it must maintain, what it can charge, who it contracts with, and how it resolves disputes.
Governance, meetings & decisions
We help buildings run AGMs, committee meetings, ballots and special resolutions correctly, record them properly, and pass decisions that survive a challenge.
Rules, complaints & compliance
We can assist with crafting rules that are valid and enforceable, and with breach notices done properly the first time.
Disputes, litigation & VCAT
We give you an honest assessment early, negotiate where it works, and run litigation properly at VCAT or in court where it does not.
Fees, levies & recovery
We help strike annual and special fees correctly, recover what is unpaid, and test charges that should never have been raised.
Common property, repairs & access
Whose boundary, whose repair, whose cost: we settle it by the plan of subdivision rather than by argument.
Building defects & water ingress
We coordinate the experts, preserve limitation periods and build a rectification or claims strategy that can actually be run.
Managers & service contracts
We negotiate appointments, delegations and supplier contracts with clear authority and terms worth signing.
Alterations, use & property rights
We get renovations, exclusive use, licences and leases approved properly, so they cannot unravel later.
How we work
A direct path from issue to resolution.
We work out what the problem actually is, the law and documents that govern it, and what you should do next. We then advise clearly and act decisively on your behalf.
Understand
The documents, the deadlines, the decision-makers and the outcome that matters to you.
Advise
Plain-language options, a recommendation, and a straight view of risk, cost and timing.
Act
Drafting, correspondence, negotiation, meetings and formal proceedings, carried through to a result.
When to seek advice
Engaging us early results in a better outcome for you.
You should not wait for a dispute to arise and gain momentum. A short review at the right moment usually costs a fraction of the argument it prevents, and it is when we can still keep every option open for you.
Engage us when:
- 01The building is about to commitWe can check contracts, major works and special resolutions before the vote, while they are still easy to fix.
- 02No one will take ownership of a repairLeaks and defects stall while responsibility is passed around. We can find the answer for you; it is usually in the plan of subdivision.
- 03A complaint has stalledWe can test the rule relied on, the notice given and the process actually followed, before positions harden.
- 04A special levy lands and owners push backWe can test whether the fee was validly struck and the process followed, for the corporation raising it or the owner disputing it.
- 05A manager’s contract is up for signing or renewalWe can check the term, the notice provisions and the clauses the Act now prohibits, before anyone is locked in.
- 06You are buying into a buildingWe can read the owners corporation certificate, the rules and the minutes, so you know what you are walking into.
- 07A deadline appearsWe can move quickly on hearing dates, response dates, breach notices and limitation periods, all of which punish delay.
Resources
Plain-language guidance, published as the law evolves.
Short articles on the problems that recur in Victorian buildings, written for committees, managers and owners rather than for other lawyers. The 2021 reforms and the 2024–25 amendments left plenty of buildings running on out-of-date assumptions. We track the changes so you do not have to.
Stay up to date with changes and developments in Victorian owners corporation law.
Occasional updates for Victorian owners corporations, committees and managers. No marketing, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
Melbourne & statewide
Based in Southbank 3006. Acting across Victoria.
We work from Southbank, surrounded by the densest concentration of owners corporations in the country. Clients are across metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria; meetings are by video and by appointment. The first conversation is always free.