Buyers routinely assume a strata report takes as long as it takes to write one. It doesn’t. Writing is the short part.
What actually takes the time
Three things sit between ordering a report and receiving it, and only the last is within an inspector’s control.
One, the authority. Strata records can only be inspected with a signed authority from the owner of the lot, under section 182 of the Strata Schemes Management Act. Not from the buyer. That authority has to be signed by the vendor’s solicitor or conveyancer, or by the selling agent under their agency agreement. How fast that happens depends on someone who is not you and not your inspector.
Two, the strata company’s schedule. Once the authority is lodged, the managing agent has to grant access. Some grant it the same day through a portal. Some book a slot a week out. Some are slower still, particularly around the end of a financial year or when a scheme has just changed managing agents.
Three, the inspection and the report. This is roughly an hour of records inspection and then the writing and checking. It is the only part with a reliable timeframe.
Access is the bottleneck, not writing. An inspector quoting “24 hours” is describing the third part. What determines whether you have the report by Friday is the first two.
What this means for cooling off
A residential cooling-off period in NSW is short. The exact position, its length, when it starts, whether it has been waived, depends on your contract, and it is your conveyancer’s to confirm, not something to take from a website.
What can be said generally is that the window is measured in a handful of business days, and that a strata report which depends on two third parties is not something to start on day three of it.
Practical timing
- Order before you exchange where you can. Nothing in obtaining a report commits you to anything.
- Tell the inspector your deadline when you order, not afterwards. A competent one will tell you honestly whether it’s achievable, and if it isn’t you have lost nothing.
- Have the contract to hand. The front page carries the strata plan number, the lot number and the vendor’s name, the details your conveyancer needs for the authority to inspect.
- Know who is signing the authority. If you have a conveyancer, that route is usually faster. If you don’t, it goes to the selling agent, which means your interest in the property becomes visible to them.
- Ask what happens if access isn’t granted. If the answer isn’t a refund, ask why not.
If the deadline can’t be met
Sometimes it genuinely can’t, the managing agent won’t schedule, or the authority can’t be obtained in time. Options at that point are contractual, and they belong to your solicitor or conveyancer: an extension, a different approach to the cooling-off period, or a decision not to proceed.
What an inspector can do is tell you where the job actually stands, early enough for that conversation to be useful.
Common questions
How long does a strata report take in NSW?
The inspection and report take about a day. The variables are how quickly the authority is signed by the owner's side and how quickly the strata company grants access, commonly several days, occasionally longer.
Can I order a strata report before I exchange?
Yes, and it is generally the better time to do it. Obtaining a report does not commit you to the purchase.
Do I need a solicitor before I can order a report?
No. But someone on the vendor's side has to sign the authority to inspect, and where you have no conveyancer that is usually the selling agent.
Working to a deadline?
Tell us when you order and we’ll tell you honestly whether it’s achievable. If we can’t obtain the records, you get a full refund. $330 inc. GST.