No law says you must. Plenty of 2-lot owners — whether a duplex or 2 separate houses on one block — run things perfectly well on a handshake for twenty years. This guide is about when that works, when it quietly stops working, and what you're actually paying for if you get help.
What the law requires of you — with or without a manager
- Building insurance in the owners corporation's name, full replacement value, $20m liability, renewed every year.
- Common property kept in repair.
- Contributions determined and split by unit entitlement — even if the answer is "we each pay half of the premium directly".
- A strata roll and records kept and available on request.
- A Section 184 certificate within 14 days when a lot is sold and one is requested.
If both of you are organised, on good terms, and one of you enjoys paperwork, you can do all of that yourselves.
When self-management quietly stops working
In our experience it fails at one of four moments:
- A sale. The buyer's conveyancer asks for a Section 184 certificate and the strata roll. Nobody has either. Settlement is delayed while someone works out what the certificate even is.
- An insurance claim. The policy turns out to be in one owner's name, or a home-and-contents policy on each half, or a sum insured that hasn't moved since 2009.
- A new neighbour. The handshake was with the previous owner. The new one wants everything in writing — reasonably.
- A disagreement. A roof repair one owner thinks is urgent and the other thinks is cosmetic, with no agreed process for deciding.
What a manager should cost for 2-lots
Full strata management — a trust account, levy notices, paying the bills, financial statements — is real work and is priced accordingly; for a 2-lot scheme expect four figures a year. For many 2-lot schemes that's more service than they need.
The alternative is administration only: someone keeps the roll and records, checks the insurance each year, provides the written-resolution templates, chases the second signature, and issues the Section 184 certificate when you sell — while you keep paying the insurer and tradespeople yourselves. That is what Duplex Strata is, at $395 + GST a year for the scheme. There is no trust account because we never hold your money.
Questions to ask anyone you appoint
Are you licensed?
Strata managing agents in NSW must hold a licence under the Property and Stock Agents Act 2002. Ask for the licence number and check it on the Fair Trading public register.
Do you take insurance commissions?
Many managers are paid a commission by the insurer or broker on your premium. It's legal if disclosed, but it means the person checking your insurance is paid more when you pay more. Duplex Strata takes none.
What's the term and how do we leave?
Look for a clear notice period and the right to end the agreement each year without penalty. Anything that renews itself automatically deserves a second read.
Who holds the money?
If the answer is "we do", ask about the trust account, audits and reporting. If the answer is "you do", ask how payments are tracked.
- From 1 October 2026 (now in force): 2-lot schemes no longer lodge the annual Strata Hub report (NSW Fair Trading, "Changes to strata laws").
- Small strata scheme rules (no meetings, decisions by written resolution of both owners, new s 7A): in a Bill that has passed the Legislative Assembly and is before the Legislative Council. They start on a date to be proclaimed. Until then, where the law still requires a meeting, we give you a simple template pack so you can hold it yourselves in a few minutes.
- Unchanged: the duty to insure the building for full replacement value in the owners corporation's name, to keep common property in repair, to keep a strata roll and records, and to provide a Section 184 certificate when a lot is sold.