Ten ways to lower your levies

The old adage that you get what you pay for doesn't always apply to levies or fees for apartment buildings. Sometimes you pay too much for what you are getting.

Generally speaking, you should be paying your fair share of all your building's services, whether you want them or not. But are you getting value for money?

You can't do very much on your own but how can you and your neighbours make choices that lower your levies without reducing your services (assuming you don't want to reduce the value of your apartment).

1. Cut electricity costs in common areas.

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There are many ways of doing this from having your lift lobby and car park lights on a timer, to installing low energy lighting, to having motion-activated lights. But don't be tempted to go belt and braces on this. Installing low energy lights and motion activated lighting may be less cost-effective than one or the other. There are plenty of websites on this, including a federal Department of Industry web page (yourenergysavings.gov.au) that compares the options.

2. Suck up the power of the sun

Don't be like the dough-brained executive committee that rejected solar panels on their roof because "it would cost more to pump the water up there". Photovoltaic systems convert sunlight directly to electricity which can be used for all the things that electricity is used for, like common area lighting, for instance.

Recent reports claim that with the improvement in efficiencies and reductions in costs, a photovoltaic system can pay for itself between six months and two years. Circumstances differ, of course, but all you have to do is get a quote and see if the sums add up for you. The Green Strata website (greenstrata.com.au) has a stack of information on this.

Meanwhile green roofs and walls are all the rage. Not only are they turning some of that nasty CO2 into oxygen, they keep the building cool in summer and warm in winter, which, at the very least, helps keep common property heating and cooling costs down. There's a City of Sydney guide (greenvillages.com.au) and you'll find the Victoria draft guide to green roofs and walls here (imap.vic.gov.au).

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Ten ways to lower your levies