Do interest payments from late payments go to the manager or to the owners corporation? – John, VIC

Q: Looking at OC financial records from a previous OC Manager I note that a lot of owners are charged interest due to being late in payments. I am questioning whether these interest payments go to the Manager or to the OC. I rang CAV and were unable to advise so appreciate your comments.

A: When it comes to interest for levies that are not paid on time, the interest will go back into your owners corporation’s trust account.

It is also worth noting that owners corporations are not allowed to charge owners with any additional fees or charges on top of their overdue/late fees (e.g. an administration charge). Managers are also not allowed to seek late payments from individual lot owners due to the way contracts work. A manager’s contract in Victoria appoints them to the owners corporation, therefore late fees are contractually a matter between the manager and owners corporation only.