Strata title and community title are both ways of owning property where individual owners have private lots and share responsibility for common or shared property. The main difference is how the property is divided, what the shared areas are called, and how the scheme is structured under the relevant state or territory law.
In simple terms, strata title is commonly used for apartments, units and buildings where lots are divided within a building or building group. Community title is often used for land-based developments, townhouse estates, master-planned communities or mixed-use developments where owners share roads, gardens, services or facilities. In some jurisdictions, community title can also support layered or multi-tier schemes.
Strata title is a property ownership structure where a building or group of buildings is divided into individual lots and common property. Each owner privately owns their lot and shares ownership or responsibility for common property with the other owners.
A strata lot may be an apartment, unit, townhouse, villa, car space, storage area or commercial lot. Common property may include lifts, stairwells, foyers, roofs, external walls, gardens, driveways, shared plumbing, shared electrical services and other building infrastructure. NSW Land Registry Services describes a strata scheme as a building or group of buildings divided into lots, which may include common property such as shared gardens, external walls and roofs.
Community title is a property ownership structure used for developments where owners have individual lots and share community property, facilities, infrastructure or land. It is often used for residential estates, townhouse communities, mixed-use developments and master-planned communities.
Community title can allow shared property outside a single building, such as private roads, landscaped areas, visitor parking, entry gates, recreation areas, service infrastructure or other shared facilities. In NSW, community, precinct and neighbourhood schemes are forms of land title that help subdivide and develop land with shared property, and a community title scheme may include neighbourhood schemes, precinct schemes and/or strata schemes.
In a strata title property, you generally own your individual lot and share responsibility for common property. The lot boundaries are shown on the registered strata plan. The parts that are not included in any lot are usually common property.
For example, in an apartment building, you may privately own the inside of your apartment while the roof, lifts, stairwells, external walls, foyers and building structure are common property managed by the owners corporation or equivalent body.
In a community title property, you generally own your individual lot and share responsibility for community property or association property. The shared property may be larger and more land-based than in a standard apartment strata scheme.
For example, a community title estate may include individually owned townhouses plus shared internal roads, entry landscaping, lighting, visitor parking, gardens, stormwater systems or recreational facilities. In South Australia, official guidance says a community title is issued for each lot and the common property, and there are two types of community titles: community strata and community scheme.
Yes. The title type affects what you own, what you share, how decisions are made, what fees you pay and which documents you must review before buying. Buyers should confirm:
Before buying strata title or community title property, check the registered plan, scheme rules, financial records and management documents. The names of the documents vary across states and territories:
No. They are related, but they are not always the same. Both involve private lots and shared property, but community title is usually designed for broader shared land, facilities or infrastructure. Strata title is more commonly associated with buildings divided into lots and common property. However, some jurisdictions include community strata schemes or allow strata schemes to sit inside a broader community scheme. This is why the registered plan and local legislation are more important than the everyday label used by a seller or agent.
Both types of schemes are usually managed by a legal body made up of lot owners. The name of that body changes by state and scheme type:
Both strata title and community title owners usually pay levies, contributions or fees to fund shared costs. The names and calculation methods vary by state and scheme documents. Fees may cover administration, insurance, repairs, maintenance, cleaning, shared utilities, landscaping, access systems, roads, facilities and long-term capital works. Community title fees may also include costs for broader shared infrastructure or staged community facilities.
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