Note: This answer is based on WA Strata Title Legislation.
In short, a Strata Plan is the plan of a strata titled property, showing the boundaries of lots and unit entitlements, and registered with the Planning Commission.
It is also the mechanism for creating strata schemes and strata titles under the Strata Titles Act 1985. Strata Plans actually define the lots in a strata scheme, as well as common property.
What does it look like?
A Strata Plan is a registered document and usually consists of several pages of written descriptions, sketches and important information about all the lots.
A Strata Plan document usually contains:
Administration sheets: approved forms numbered separately from the plan drawing sheets.
A location plan showing the strata scheme with respect to the parcel of land and neighboring properties.
A floor plan displaying the boundaries of the buildings that form part of the strata plan for each individual lot, as well as their respective boundaries within the plan. (All areas outside the boundaries of the lots shown on the floor plan are defined as common property).
What’s included in the Administration Sheets?
The front page including the name of the scheme, the registered address of the scheme, the strata plan number, the date of the strata scheme, when it was lodged for registration, the date it was examined, the date of registration.
Confirmation on whether or not a management statement (i.e. by-laws) was put in place. The Act requires that a Strata Plan must specify the by-laws proposed to be adopted. A scheme may opt to use model by-laws provided as Schedules in the Act, or it can develop its own by-laws
The lot number of the strata plan and volume/folio from the certificate of title.
Local government details.
A signed and dated approval from the chairman of the Western Australian Planning Commission.
The schedule of unit entitlements, based on the market value of the lots at the date of registering the strata plan. This schedule must be shown on an administration sheet in the appropriate panel as two vertical columns, with the first showing the lot numbers in numerical sequence and the second showing the unit entitlements for each lot. If you have a number of lots with the same unit entitlement, you can group those with successive numbers instead of setting them out in vertical columns. A final row shows the aggregate of the unit entitlements. All unit entitlements must be expressed in whole numbers.
What is on a Location Plan?
The basic purpose of a location plan is to show the building and any lots outside the building in relation to the parcel boundary. The location plan is prepared on Strata Plan form 2, on a separate sheet from the floor plan(s). Your Location Plan must show the following:
A north point (pointing upwards) to orient the plan.
The external boundaries of the land and their lengths.
The external limits of the building and any other structures used to define the lots on the floor plan.
The identity of the building (that is, the street number, the number of levels, and its external construction materials).
The boundaries of any lots not within the main building.
What's on the Floor Plan?
The main purpose of including the floor plan(s) is to define new strata lots.
Floor plan(s) are also prepared on Strata Plan Form 2, on a separate sheet(s) from the location plan. Your floor plan(s) should show the following:
A north point (pointing upwards) to orient the plan.
The boundaries of all lots and part lots defined by continuous (i.e. unbroken) lines.
The base area of each cubic space of a strata lot.
If you need assistance with developing, lodging or understanding a Strata Plan, contact us.
Abode Strata Management is an accredited, WA-based boutique strata management company providing residential and commercial strata management. Abode specialises in efficient, tailored solutions and sensitive management of people, for small residential right up to large mixed-use developments. Follow Abode on Linked In.