Many people often question why their levies don’t reflect the size of their small building. And while the total funds needed to maintain a small complex may indeed be less than a larger one, the amount per owner might not be.

Levies are calculated on the costs required to maintain the body corporate, the building, and the infrastructure around it, not the size of the building or the number of lots in it.

For instance, the cost to maintain a swimming pool is generally similar, regardless of whether it serves a single private house, five townhouses, or twenty townhouses. Granted, the chemical costs might be higher with more people swimming, but a larger development with say twenty townhouses can more affordably distribute the costs of the pool and its maintenance across more owners.

This applies to many expenses within a body corporate, so often smaller lots pay higher body corporate levies, simply because they lack the economy of scale.