Owning a property within an owners corporation (OC), also known as a body corporate or strata scheme, comes with certain shared responsibilities, especially when it comes to repairs and maintenance.
Understanding who pays for what can be confusing as costs are divided between individual lot owners and the owners’ corporation and every situation depends on the property’s specific boundaries, rules, and plan of subdivision.
The Owners Corporation Act 2006 clearly explains these responsibilities. If you’re unsure about anything, your Owners Corporation Manager can help, as they keep the OC records and understand the Plan of Subdivision and building details. Knowing these distinctions can help to avoid disputes and unexpected expenses.
What repairs and maintenance is an owners corporation responsible for?
Generally, owners corporations are responsible for all common property repairs and maintenance, such as roofs, walls, and shared facilities, along with the investigation into areas where the issue is not apparent.
This includes things such as:
- Common area repairs, including shared stairwells and hallways, gardens, roads, driveways and footpaths, property boundary fences and railings or walls, entry gates and intercom utilities, as well as additional amenities such as pools, gyms, or shared BBQ areas.
- Structural repairs, including roofs, external walls, property foundations, balcony balustrades, railings, waterproofing, and external painting for the building. It also includes windows for common/external areas and shared doors or entryways.
- Shared utility repairs include water pipes and drains that serve more than one unit, building-wide wiring and electrical systems, and fire alarm systems in common areas and car parks.
What repairs and maintenance are lot owners responsible for?
Lot owners are responsible for repairs and maintenance for any part of the property or building where use is exclusively theirs.
This can include, but isn’t limited to:
- The interior of the lot, including interior painting maintenance, floors, walls, doors and windows. It also includes interior fixtures such as lights, plumbing, air conditioning and anything else that only services their lot.
- Internal appliances include refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, laundry washers, and dryers.
- External areas, where those areas are used exclusively by the lot owner and not shared with others.
What steps should you take if you notice a repair or maintenance need in a common area?
While the responsibility for carrying out and addressing repairs and maintenance mainly falls on different individuals, it’s everyone’s responsibility to ultimately look out for and ensure the entire building is kept in good condition.
This means taking note of and reporting repairs and maintenance as soon as possible to prevent further costly damage or ongoing repairs.
If you notice repairs or maintenance requirements in common areas, take the following steps:
Step one: Report the repair or maintenance issue to your owners corporations, letting them know what the issue is, where it’s located and when you noticed it, photos and video are incredibly helpful in maintaining records and determining cause, duration and responsibility.
Step two: Follow up if necessary. Some repairs may take longer than others or require specialist intervention, but you should hear back promptly about steps being taken to address any repairs or maintenance requests.
Step three: If the issue is not resolved within an adequate amount of time or if you do not receive a response or indication that repairs are underway, you can continue to follow up or raise the issue further with your local tribunal, such as the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). Note building defects and large structural repairs may take an extended timeframe to repair. As long as your manager is reporting regularly, you can feel assured that the work is ongoing.
What else do you need to consider?
While this is a general overview of the types of repairs and maintenance owners corporations and individual owners are responsible for, there are also some different requirements by state across Australia.
If you’re based in Victoria and unsure or need guidance, AboveOCM can help. Our expert team is on hand to support you through the process and can provide expert advice on repairs, maintenance, and more.
Reach out to us today to find out more.
