Units of Entitlement

A lot owner’s contribution to strata fees is determined by the number of Units of Entitlement (UOE) allocated to their individual lot. The UOE represents the proportionate share of the total operating costs of the building that the owner is responsible for paying. Lelani is registered in New South Wales as Strata Plan 8461 (SP 8461) and has a total of 117 Units of Entitlement. In a well-functioning and equitable strata plan, Units of Entitlement are allocated fairly to reflect each property’s relative size and market value, ensuring that all owners pay their appropriate share. However, this equitable distribution does not occur at Lelani.

The Units of Entitlement at Lelani were established in a manner widely regarded as unlawful, resulting in studio owners disproportionately bearing the majority of the strata fees, effectively subsidising the costs for a single lot owner in the penthouse.

There are 108 lots at Lelani and this is the breakdown of property types by size:¹²

• 72 standard size studios
• 32 larger end studios
• 1 large one bedroom unit
• 1 small one bedroom unit
• Lot 105/106 (Suite 1 & 2) which has a combined usable area over 400 SQM including exclusive use of common property rooftop structure and corner block.³

Key Points

• Standard size studios at Lelani currently pay 169% more strata fees per SQM than Lot 105/106.

• 1 bedroom units such as Suite 4 pay 410% more strata fees per SQM than Lot 105/106.

Another way to put it is that Lot 105/106 pays a meagre 59% of what a standard size studio owner pays per SQM and a shockingly low 24% of what Suite 4 pays per SQM⁴.

The table below illustrates the degree to which all lot owners at Lelani are heavily subsidising the lifestyle of Lot 105/106 on a fees per square metre basis⁵.

Now, obviously square metres is not the only factor determining how Units of Entitlement are issued but clearly Lelani (SP 8461) has an unjust distribution of entitlements. This distribution of entitlements was created in 1974 when the building, then already over a decade old was converted from private ownership to strata title⁶. By today’s standards this UOE distribution would most likely be illegal and probably still is, it just hasn’t been tested before the tribunal.

Let’s go beyond SQM and compare UOE based on property values

• Unit 804 Sold for $591,000 in February 2025

• Unit 113 Sold for $492,000 in August 2024

Both lots were in the same un-renovated condition and sold within 6 months of each other with an almost $100,000 difference in sale price. There is also a difference of ~$100 in the rent appraisal per week between the two properties⁷. One has panoramic harbour views, the other has views of a car park and a brick wall. The more valuable unit on level 8 relies on the lift service, the cheaper studio on level 1 is a walk up and rarely uses or benefits from the lift. Despite these being very differently valued studios they both have 1 UOE and therefore pay the same fees.

So what’s the solution?

A fair and transparent redistribution of Units of Entitlement at Lelani is urgently required.

The current allocation fails to consider critical factors such as lot size, market value, and exclusive use privileges. For example, standard-sized studios without views should reasonably pay less than larger studios with premium Sydney Harbour Bridge views. Similarly, lower-floor studios should incur lower fees compared to more valuable upper-floor studios benefiting from harbour vistas. Most notably, Lot 105/106, which enjoys panoramic views and exclusive use of common property areas including the ‘penthouse’ residence and corner block, should bear a significantly higher share of strata fees than studios facing a brick wall.

The author of this post previously raised this clear injustice with both the committee and Strata Choice, only to be effectively dismissed and told to “prove it” at their own legal expense. Given Strata Choice’s documented history of favouring the owner of Lot 105/106 to the detriment of all other lot owners, this dismissive response is unfortunately unsurprising.

With the committee and Strata Choice demonstrating a troubling apathy toward addressing this issue, and considering it would be unreasonable for a single lot owner to bear the full cost of legal action, pursuing an application to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) appears to be the only viable recourse. An NCAT order could potentially invalidate the unjust exclusive use by-laws currently benefiting Lot 105/106 or compel a fair redistribution of Units of Entitlement, ensuring that Lot 105/106 contributes equitably to strata fees.

1. These figures are taken from documentation of the Lelani Strata Plan (SP 8461). It is worth noting that the size of these studios is actually smaller than specified in the documents but for the purpose of this exercise we are using the official numbers. ↩︎
2. You can view a more information about any lot on the Lot Details Page. ↩︎
3. Although on seperate titles, Lot 105 & 106 are effectively the same property and were sold together and owned by a single owner. For example the commercial space they share on the ground floor has no walls dividing the lots. The exclusive use of the corner block has also been combined into one single space by the owner. ↩︎
4. Rounded to the nearest whole number. ↩︎
5. The data is accurate as possible but indicative only because the documentation in SP 8461 is very unclear and illegal by today’s standards. This is a seperate issue which is addressed on this website. ↩︎
6. Please see the history page on this website for more information about how Lelani was converted to strata title. ↩︎
7. At of June 2025. ↩︎
8. As of February 2025. ↩︎