FINANCE & LEVIES

Arrears notices, penalties & legal escalation

How StrataBuddy automatically sends reminder and legal notices, how to apply a penalty, and how to advance a debt through the escalation workflow.

Who this is for
Secretary / AdminTreasurer
assignment_turned_in

Before you start

  • check_circle

    At least one levy notice is overdue — visible on the Arrears Report under Finance → Levy Management.

  • check_circle

    You hold the Committee or Admin role — owners cannot apply penalties or escalate debt.

  • check_circle

    The committee has passed a resolution authorising any penalty amount before you apply it in StrataOwn.

  • check_circle

    You have reviewed the owner's contact and service address on the Strata Roll so notices reach the correct person.

1

How automatic notices work

StrataOwn runs a background job every night that checks all overdue levy notices and sends escalating notices automatically. You do not need to trigger these manually — the system acts on the following schedule:

Day 0 — Due date passes

Notice is marked Overdue. Interest begins accruing daily at the scheme's configured rate (maximum 10% p.a.).

Day 7 — Reminder notice sent

An automated reminder email is sent to the lot owner. The escalation event is recorded in the Arrears History tab for your audit trail.

Day 21 — Final notice sent

A Final Notice email is sent, explicitly warning that legal recovery action will commence if payment is not received. This constitutes formal pre-action correspondence under strata legislation.

Day 60 — Legal notice sent

A formal Legal Notice email is dispatched demanding payment within 14 days. A printable PDF version can be generated (see Step 4) for service by post or hand delivery if required.

Idempotent by design — each notice is only ever sent once per notice per threshold. If the background job runs again on the same day it will not send duplicates.
2

Apply a late-payment penalty

Penalties are discrete charges applied on top of the outstanding principal and accrued interest. They are separate from the daily interest accrual and must be authorised by a committee resolution before being recorded.

  1. Open Finance → Levy Management → Arrears Report.
  2. Click the overdue notice row to open the detail panel.
  3. Select Apply Penalty.
  4. Enter the penalty amount and a reason (e.g. "Committee resolution 12 Oct 2025 — late payment fee").
  5. Click Confirm. The penalty is recorded immediately, the audit log is updated, and the owner receives an automated email notification.
Before you apply a penalty — confirm the committee has passed a resolution authorising the specific amount. Some state legislation limits or prohibits penalties beyond statutory interest; seek legal advice if unsure.
3

Manually advance the escalation step

If the automatic cadence doesn't fit your circumstances — for example, the committee decides to escalate earlier, or you have already obtained a debt-collector referral — you can manually record the escalation stage.

  1. Open the overdue notice detail panel from the Arrears Report.
  2. Choose Escalate Debt.
  3. Select the new escalation step from the list: Reminder Sent, Final Notice Sent, Legal Notice Sent, Referred to Debt Collector, or Resolved.
  4. Enter optional notes (e.g. the name of the debt-collection agency or tribunal reference number).
  5. Click Confirm. The step is saved with your name and timestamp and appears in the Arrears History tab.
Each escalation step can only be recorded once per notice — StrataOwn prevents duplicate entries. If you try to record a step that has already been set, you will see a conflict message.
4

Generate a formal legal notice PDF

For notices that reach 60+ days overdue you can print and serve a formal Legal Notice on the owner. The PDF is generated on demand and includes the owner's name, lot, total amount owing (principal + accrued interest + penalties), a 14-day payment demand, and the committee chairperson's signature block.

  1. Open the overdue notice detail panel.
  2. Click Download Legal Notice PDF.
  3. Print the PDF and serve it on the owner in accordance with your state's legislative requirements for service of notices (typically by post to the service address on the strata roll, or by hand delivery).
  4. Record the service date in the escalation notes field.
This is a formal legal document. The PDF references applicable strata legislation. StrataOwn generates it as a template — you are responsible for ensuring the content is accurate and the notice is served correctly. Seek legal advice before commencing tribunal proceedings.
5

Review arrears history and track compliance

Every escalation event, penalty application, and notice dispatch is stored in StrataOwn's Arrears History log. This gives the committee a complete chronological record to present to a tribunal if the matter is disputed.

  • checkNavigate to Finance → Arrears Escalations to view all escalation events across the building.
  • checkFilter by lot number or escalation step to find a specific owner's history.
  • checkEach row shows whether the event was triggered automatically or recorded manually, by whom, and when.
  • checkThe Audit Log (under Reports → Audit Log) records all penalty and escalation actions for external audit purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I stop the automatic notices from being sent? expand_more

The automatic notice cadence runs as long as a notice remains unpaid and overdue. Once you record a payment that clears the balance, or mark the escalation as Resolved, no further automatic notices are sent for that notice. If a payment plan is in place, manually mark the escalation as Resolved so the system knows the matter is actively managed.

What is the difference between interest and a penalty? expand_more

Interest accrues automatically each day at the scheme's configured rate (up to the state statutory maximum of 10% p.a. simple interest). It compensates the owners corporation for the time value of the overdue money and is set by legislation.

Penalties are discrete, fixed charges applied by a committee decision — for example, an administration fee for processing a late payment. They require a separate committee resolution and are not automatically calculated. Penalties are allowed under most state strata legislation but the amount must be reasonable and properly authorised.

Will the owner receive emails if they don't have a StrataOwn account? expand_more

Automatic emails are sent to the email address registered on the owner's StrataOwn account. If the lot owner does not have an account, the system will not send automated emails — in that case you should use the Download Legal Notice PDF to generate a printable notice and serve it via post to the service address on the strata roll.

When should we refer the matter to a tribunal? expand_more

After the 14-day demand period in the legal notice has expired without payment, the owners corporation may apply to the relevant state tribunal (e.g. NCAT in NSW, QCAT in Queensland, VCAT in Victoria) for an order for payment. Record the referral in StrataOwn by setting the escalation to Referred to Debt Collector and noting the tribunal reference number. The complete escalation history and audit log can be exported to support your application.

Does the owner get notified when a penalty is applied? expand_more

Yes — StrataOwn sends an automated email to the lot owner when a penalty is applied, showing the penalty amount and the reason recorded by the committee. The owner can opt out of this specific notification type in their account preferences, but the penalty itself is always recorded in the system and visible in their levy account.

update
Last reviewed 20 Oct 2025
person
Article owner Michael Torres

Related Articles

Finance & Levies

Issue your first levy notice

End-to-end walkthrough: levy schedule setup, lot calculations, and notice delivery.

Finance & Levies

Manage levy arrears

How outstanding amounts are calculated, interest accrual, payment plans, and write-offs.

Finance & Levies

Committee spending limit

What the committee spending limit is, how to set it, and when a resolution is required to exceed it.