Common Property Information

In the table below, we have provided a basic guide to help you better determine the appropriate allocation. Please do consult your strata plan and by-laws to ensure all factors are considered.

If you would like more detailed information, The industry body Strata Community Australia (SCA) has also published a more detailed fact sheet (fact sheet attached).

Balcony tiles

Owners corporation – if originally installed in the lot.

Balcony doors

Owners corporation – if the scheme was registered after 1 July 1974.

Lot owner – if registered prior to 1 July 1974.

Bathroom and laundry tiles

Owners corporation – if originally installed on boundary walls (shown as a solid thick line on the strata plan) and on the floor.

Lot owner – tiles on internal walls.

Bathroom vanities

Lot owner

Boundary doors

Owners corporation

Carpets

Lot owners – carpets within a lot.

Owners corporation – carpets in hallways and in shared spaces.

Cavities through which pipes, wiring and other service equipment for other lots pass

Owners corporation

Ceilings

Owners corporation – the plaster board or other construction material of a ceiling, unless a false ceiling was installed after registration of the strata plan and were not there to hide communal piping, wiring etc.

Ceiling paint or finish

Lot owner

Exception: Owners corporation – vermiculite and plaster ceilings which are the responsibility of the owners corporation.

Cornices

Owners corporation

Lot owner – if they are on an internal wall.

Electricity

Owners corporation

Lot owner – cabling within the lot that only services the lot owner.

Floor boards and parquetry

Owners corporation – if originally installed in the lot.

Fire alarms/smoke detectors

Lot owner – if located below the surface of the ceiling and are stand-alone.

Owners corporation – if connected to a fireboard.

Intercoms

This matter is currently being disputed amongst authorities and yet to be resolved in the courts and tribunals. Some argue that the actual units located on the wall of the lot owner’s property is their responsibility to maintain. Others argue that if the handset is part of an integrated system, the handset remains part of common property. Any central console and the wiring to the individual units is common property.

Internal walls and internal doors

Lot owner

Locking and safety devices on doors

Lot owner – locking and safety devices installed pursuant to by-law five of the common set of by-law.

Owners corporation – if these items were installed prior to 1 January 1985. Please consult the terms and conditions that formed part of the resolution to grant permission for the installation.

Light fittings

Lot owners – if affixed to the ceiling or walls.

Owners corporation – where a light fitting is on a balcony, above the airspace defined on the plan, or recessed into the ceiling.

Mesh between garages

Owners corporation – if shown on the strata plan as a solid thick line.

Exception: If it is shown on the plan as a dotted line or no line is indicated, the mesh is treated in accordance with the Divided Fences Act. The Act indicates that if the mesh divides two lots, both owners are equally responsible for its maintenance. However, If the mesh divides one lot from common property, both the lot owner and the owners corporation are equally responsible. Or, where the mesh divides one lot from an adjoining property, the owners corporation is responsible for its share with the neighbouring property.

Plumbing

Owners corporation – plumbing below the floor, above the ceiling or within a wall cavity that is shown on the strata plan as being within a thick solid line wall (unless it is wholly within a lot). Lot owner – plumbing within an internal wall (unless it services more than one lot).

Roller-doors on garages

Owners corporation – a roller-door that gives access to the common car park area.

Lot owner – a roller-door that is part of the individual lot owner’s enclosed car park.

Slab dividing two levels within the same lot

Owners corporation – if the strata plan registered after 1 July 1974.

Lot owner – if the strata plan was registered before 1 July 1974.

Tiles on shower tray

Owners corporation – if the strata plan was registered before 1 July 1974.

Walls

Owners corporation – those shown as a solid line on the strata plan. Any repair for cracks in external walls need to be at least 2mm wide before the owners corporation is obliged to affect a repair.

Windows and window sills

Owners corporation (unless otherwise noted in the by-laws).

Exception: Where the strata plan was registered before 1 July 1974, a balcony wall and its doors and windows are usually the lot owner’s property to maintain.

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