If you own in a small strata scheme — fewer than 20 lots — your strata manager probably runs your meetings just fine. But when you actually need their advice? The data suggests you’re largely on your own.
Meetings run fine. Everything else, less so. Across 151 verified reviews, small schemes (under 20 lots) and large schemes rated their managers almost identically for meetings. But on professional guidance, small schemes rated their manager at 55% — against 61% for large schemes. Complaints handling shows the same divide. The mechanical part of the job gets done. The expertise doesn’t follow.
The economics explain it. A 10-lot building generates a fraction of the fee revenue of a 100-lot building, which means less experienced staff and lower priority when something needs attention. But the human cost runs deeper than that. Smaller buildings mean fewer owners to carry the load of what are often long, complex remediation projects. Committee members burn out. Building knowledge — the history of what’s been done, what’s been deferred, what decisions led where — walks out the door when they do. A good strata manager should be the constant. Too often, they’re not.
And these aren’t new buildings. 62% of small schemes in our data are more than 30 years old, compared to just 25% of large schemes. These are precisely the buildings facing ageing infrastructure, major remediation works and capital works fund balances that need careful, financially sound management to stretch far enough. Yet for small schemes over 50 years old, satisfaction with their manager’s advice barely scrapes half marks. The buildings with the most complex needs are getting the least experienced guidance.
Good managers for small schemes exist — but you have to find them deliberately. Look for someone with a genuine portfolio of similar buildings, not one who treats your 8-lot block as an afterthought. The reviews are there to help you do exactly that.
Filter Strata Management Reviews by building age, lot size and location to find managers with a proven track record in schemes like yours — before you sign anything.