Recovery of Strata Levies

Try a quicker, simpler and more cost effective way of collecting strata levies from defaulting unit owners.

Letter of Demand

Click here to use our ON LINE SERVICE and we will issue a solicitor’s letter of demand within 24 hours. A solicitor’s letter of demand is far more effective in forcing the owner to pay than a letter from a debt collector. Our letter requires the unpaid levies to be paid directly to you, to cut out any double handling in us receiving the levies. The cost is $38.50 inclusive of GST.

Legal Proceedings

After 7 days from the letter of demand, we contact you to find out whether the levies have been paid, and whether you want us to issue a statement of claim through Court. In most cases, the solicitors’ letter of demand leads to payment. But, if not, we will issue court proceedings and charge only the Court scale professional fees, filing fees and service fees. 100% of these are recoverable from the debtor.

Judgment

If the levies are still not paid within 28 days of service of the statement of claim, we will enter default judgment. Again, we will charge only the Court scale fees, 100% of which are added to the judgment, payable by the debtor.

Enforcement

If necessary, we will issue a writ of execution. Again, we only charge Court scale fees, 100% of which are added to the judgment.

Defended Proceedings or other necessary

The steps outlined above will force the owner to pay the outstanding levies in the vast majority of cases. In a very small percentage of cases, the proceedings are defended, or more extreme measures are required to force payment of the judgment, sometimes right up to declaring the owner bankrupt. In those cases, we will provide a written costs agreement, and will proceed only if those costs are agreed.

This also applies where work is required clearly outside what is normally involved, such as where a defaulting owner is overseas, and we need to seek an order for substituted service.

The Somerville Legal advantage

By using Somerville Legal online debt collecting, the Owners’ Corporation will pay no commission or other fees to debt collectors, and will have immediate access to solicitors, with no middle man.

Section 86 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 provides for the debtor to pay all of the Owners’ Corporation’s reasonable legal costs in recovering unpaid levies. Accordingly, we claim the full costs as part of the claim for unpaid levies. No-one can guarantee to win every Court case. However, in almost all cases, the whole of the levies are recovered, plus the whole of the legal costs.

For advice, please contact Tim Somerville on (02) 9923 2321 or tsomerville@somervillelegal.com.au