Fire safety responsibility can be a bit of a grey area in commercial or mixed-use strata buildings (those with both residential and commercial lots).
Maintaining fire safety systems and equipment in any strata is important. In Victoria, it’s also a legislative requirement. A common problem we come across with owners’ corporations (OCs) is that assumptions are made about who has this covered, until an inspection reveals expired or missing equipment.
Below, we outline who is responsible and how to ensure this critical safety issue isn’t missed.
Fire Safety: Common Property vs Lot Boundaries
In Victoria, the OC is responsible for maintaining common property, and the lot owner is responsible for everything within their lot boundary.
Fire extinguishers located in common areas, such as entryways, hallways, car parks, or shared spaces, are the OC’s responsibility. They need to be regularly checked, serviced, tagged, and compliant as a core part of facilities management.
Any fire equipment that lot owners decide to keep on their individual lots must be checked and maintained by the lot owner.
What About Fire Safety Within a Commercial Lot?
Fire extinguishers located within a commercial lot, such as inside a shop, office, café, or warehouse, are typically the responsibility of the lot owner or their tenant, not the OC.
Most commercial leases will pass this obligation directly to the tenant operating the space. Under the Victorian Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004, employers have a duty to provide a safe working environment, including appropriate fire safety equipment.
If the commercial lot is vacant, that obligation falls back with the lot owner. Vacant commercial spaces without active tenants still need compliant fire safety equipment.
What About Fire Safety Systems That Span the Whole Building?
Many fire safety systems are building-wide, such as sprinkler systems, fire detection and alarm systems, hydrants, hose reels, and emergency warning systems. These are often installed on common property and integrated into the building’s infrastructure to serve all lots.
These systems are the OC’s responsibility for maintaining, testing, and certifying. In Victoria, Essential Safety Measures (ESMs) must be maintained in accordance with the Building Act 1993 and associated regulations.
An annual ESM report covers building-wide fire systems, regardless of whether they’re in a residential or commercial lot.
Shared Responsibility and Managing Fire Safety Disputes
Sometimes there is ambiguity about where common property ends and lots begin, especially in older buildings where the original subdivision plan wasn’t drawn with mixed-use in mind.
We’ve also seen situations where commercial tenants assume the OC is handling everything fire-related, and OC committees assume the commercial lot owner has it sorted. The result is a gap that only gets discovered during an audit.
Clear communication, documented responsibilities, and an OC manager who follows up with regular site visits all help ensure this doesn’t happen.
What We Recommend for Commercial Buildings
For OC’s managing a building with commercial lots, we recommend:
- Getting clarity on your ESM obligations: Your building surveyor can confirm which essential safety measures apply to your building and what the maintenance schedule needs to look like.
- Including fire safety in your maintenance plan: For Tier 1 and Tier 2 owners’ corporations in Victoria, a 10-year maintenance plan is a legislative requirement, and fire safety infrastructure should be included.
- Document what belongs to whom: A simple register of fire safety equipment can help you keep track of what’s where and who is responsible for it. OC managers can assist in creating and managing this.
- Don’t rely on tenants to self-report: Commercial tenants have their own priorities, and these lots can change hands more frequently than private lots, leaving gaps between when equipment is checked.
How Above OCM Can Help
The bottom line: Fire extinguishers in commercial lots are generally the responsibility of the lot owner or tenant. Building-wide fire safety systems on common property are the OC’s responsibility.
If you’d like to talk through how we handle fire safety compliance for the buildings we manage, or you’re wondering whether your current setup has any gaps,we’re happy to have that conversation.
