Body Corporate Fees for Townhouses: What You'll Pay and Why (2026)

Townhouses sit between an apartment and a house: your own front door and often a courtyard, but a shared driveway, shared grounds and neighbours on the other side of the wall. That in-between position is exactly why townhouse body corporate fees are so variable - and why a low levy isn't always the bargain it looks.

Related Guides

• Body Corporate & Strata Fees Explained
• How to Find Out a Property's Body Corporate Fees
• Body Corporate Insurance Explained

Do Townhouses Have Body Corporate Fees?

It depends on the title, not the building:

• Strata or community title townhouses - the most common kind in a complex with a shared driveway, visitor parking or common gardens - are part of a body corporate (or owners corporation), and every owner pays levies.
• Torrens title (freehold) townhouses usually don't have a body corporate or levies. You own the land and the building outright and handle your own insurance and maintenance - including anything you share with a neighbour, like a party wall or fence, by agreement between you.

The listing or the contract will say which title applies. If you're unsure, ask the agent and check the title search.

How Much Are Townhouse Body Corporate Fees?

Townhouse complexes usually pay considerably less than apartment buildings. In Queensland, for example, townhouse complexes typically pay around $400 to $900 per quarter, compared with $600 to $1,400 for a small apartment complex and $1,800 or more for a high-rise - see our Queensland guide for the full ranges.

The same pattern holds across the country. A townhouse complex with little more than a driveway, gardens and a letterbox bank sits at the low end of your state's range. A resort-style complex with a pool, gym, clubhouse and landscaped grounds can cost close to what an apartment in a mid-size building pays.

Why Townhouse Fees Are Lower

• No lifts, lobbies or corridors. Lifts alone are a major cost in apartment buildings - servicing, power, and eventually replacement.
• Less common property. Often just the driveway, gardens, fences and visitor parking.
• Simpler buildings. Fewer fire systems, no basement car park ventilation, less façade maintenance.
• Sometimes, less insurance. In some townhouse schemes the owners - not the body corporate - insure the buildings, which takes the biggest line out of the budget. That's the catch covered next.

The Insurance Catch

Building insurance is usually the largest single cost in a body corporate budget. In an apartment building, the body corporate always insures the building. In a townhouse complex, it depends on how the scheme is set up - and that changes both your levy and your own costs.

In Queensland, it depends on the type of survey plan:

• Building format plan - the body corporate must insure every building that contains a lot, for full replacement value. Your levy includes it.
• Standard format plan - common for townhouse and villa complexes - the body corporate must insure buildings where lots share a common wall, such as attached townhouses. For freestanding lots, the owner is responsible for insuring their own building.

In other states, the owners corporation usually insures the buildings on common property, but where the lot boundaries take in a whole townhouse, responsibility can vary. Always check.

Before you buy, ask for the body corporate's insurance policy and confirm whether it covers your building. If it doesn't, get a home insurance quote before you compare levies - a townhouse with a lower levy and its own insurance bill can cost more overall than one where the body corporate insures everything.

What Townhouse Fees Usually Cover

• Insurance - public liability for the common property, and building insurance where the body corporate is responsible for it
• Common property upkeep - driveway, gardens, fences, lighting, visitor parking, letterboxes and bins
• Shared facilities - a pool, gym or BBQ area, if the complex has them
• Management - a strata manager's fees, if the complex uses one (small complexes sometimes self-manage)
• The sinking fund - savings for future major works such as driveway resurfacing, fencing, painting and roofs, where those are the body corporate's responsibility

What to Check Before Buying a Townhouse

1. The title - strata or community title (levies) versus Torrens title (no levies, but no shared maintenance either).
2. Who insures your building - the body corporate's policy, or you.
3. Who maintains what. Roofs, external walls, gutters and fences can be common property or part of your lot, depending on the plan. It decides who pays when the roof needs replacing.
4. The sinking fund against the capital works plan. Older townhouse complexes often face roof, painting and driveway works at the same time.
5. Exclusive use areas - courtyards and car spaces you use but don't own, and who maintains them.
6. By-laws - especially on pets, external changes and renovations, which in a townhouse complex often need body corporate approval.

Our guide to finding out a property's body corporate fees explains how to get the real levy figure and the documents sellers must give you in each state.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do all townhouses pay body corporate fees?

No. Townhouses on strata or community title pay levies to a body corporate. Torrens title (freehold) townhouses generally don't have a body corporate, so there are no levies - but the owners handle all their own maintenance and insurance.

Are townhouse body corporate fees cheaper than apartments?

Usually, yes - townhouse complexes have no lifts or lobbies and less common property. But check who insures the buildings: in some townhouse schemes the owners insure their own homes, so a lower levy doesn't always mean lower total costs.

Who pays for the roof in a townhouse complex?

It depends on whether the roof is common property or part of your lot under the scheme's plan. If it's common property, the body corporate pays from the sinking fund; if it's part of your lot, you do. Check the plan and ask the body corporate before buying.

Can a small townhouse complex manage itself?

Many small complexes self-manage, with owners handling the levies, insurance and meetings themselves, which avoids management fees. It works well when owners are organised and willing; larger complexes usually appoint a strata manager.

Own a townhouse? Add your body corporate fees anonymously - it takes a couple of minutes, we never ask for documents, and it helps other buyers see what townhouse complexes really cost.

This article is general information, not legal or insurance advice. Who insures and maintains what depends on your state's legislation and your scheme's plan and by-laws.