Prepared by Sydney Collect
Updated September 2026 · Sources: Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), Strata Schemes Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (NSW), NSW Fair Trading
Send a letter for $29

How much does it cost to chase a levy arrear?

A law firm letter of demand costs $500 to $600 per arrear. A SydneyCollect letter of demand costs $29.

How strata managers recover unpaid levies today Per arrear
Reminder notices
Sent in house, chased by hand, tracked in a spreadsheet.
Your time
Notice and payment plan offer
30 days notice and a payment plan offer, required since 27 October 2025.
Your time
Law firm sends a letter of demand
About a week to turn around. Most owners pay at this point.
$500 to $600
NCAT or Local Court
Filing fee plus the firm's costs to run the application.
$97 to $371 + legal
What one arrear costs you $500 to $600
How SydneyCollect does it Per arrear
Your trigger fires
45 days overdue, over $500, whatever rule you set. Nobody has to remember.
Automatic
Letter of demand goes out
Same day, to the lot owner, giving 30 days to pay, with delivery recorded.
$29
Day 14 follow-up
Email and SMS chase, sent for you.
Included
Day 30, to a law firm
The 30 days notice has run and it is still unpaid, so it goes to a firm with the full record attached.
Only if needed
What one arrear costs you $29

Same outcome. Better price. Faster. Both rows end with the owner paying. Ours costs $29 instead of $500, and it happens in minutes instead of a week.

Try it on one owner. $29, five minutes, and you will see exactly what lands in their inbox. Send a letter for $29

Can levy letters go out automatically?

Yes. We connect to your arrears data, you set the rules, and the letters send themselves with a record of every one.

We connect to your arrears data. You set the rules. After that the letters send themselves and you get a record of every one.

You keep control of the list. Anyone on a payment plan or with a hardship request open is excluded.

Prefer to start by hand? Upload your arrears list as a spreadsheet and we send every letter, at $29 each. That is bulk debt recovery.

Want a number for your portfolio? Tell us how many schemes you manage and how many lots are behind. Get a price for your portfolio →

How much does a levy letter cost?

$29 a letter, flat. No commission, so everything the lot owner pays goes to the scheme.

We pay you nothing, so you have nothing to disclose. That matters since the February 2025 rules on supplier commissions.

Portfolio pricing is quoted on the volume you send.

See how that compares to agencies and court filing in our breakdown of debt collection costs.

Does the letter replace the payment plan offer?

No. The letter is written to meet the notice requirements, but the payment plan offer is a separate obligation that you still handle.

This is a letter of demand, sent before legal action, and it is written to meet the notice requirements that apply before an owners corporation can start recovery. It gives 30 days to pay and it states the amount, the date it fell due, how the money may be paid, how the owners corporation proposes to recover it, and that a payment plan may be entered into.

It does not replace the payment plan offer itself. That is a separate obligation and you still handle it.

It also helps if you do end up at NCAT. Since 27 October 2025 you only get your recovery costs back if a court or NCAT orders it. A letter that was sent, delivered, chased and ignored is the evidence that wins you that order.

More on property debts in our real estate debt recovery guide, and on the letter itself in how to write a letter of demand.

Questions strata managers ask

No. Anything unpaid at day 30, once the notice period has run, goes to a law firm with the full record attached. That can be one of our partner firms or your own, whichever you prefer.
It is written to meet the notice requirements: 30 days to pay, the amount, the date it fell due, how to pay, how the owners corporation proposes to recover, and that a payment plan may be entered into. It does not replace the payment plan offer itself, which is a separate obligation you still handle.
Sometimes, but do not count on it. Costs are claimable under section 86, but only if a court or NCAT orders it. The owner's money also pays levies first, then interest, then costs. Budget the $29 as a scheme cost.
We work from whatever your arrears data already comes out of, including a scheduled export. Tell us what you run and we will scope it on a call.
No. Since February 2025 strata managers have had to disclose commissions and connections with suppliers, with penalties up to $110,000. We charge the scheme a flat fee and pay you nothing, so there is nothing to disclose.

Sources