This article discusses class B townhouse repair responsibility in the ACT and confirms owners are usually responsible for internal and structural repairs.
Question: My Class B townhouse has extensive leaks and water damage. Am I responsible for all repairs, internal and external?
I live a 10-year-old Class B strata townhouse.
My townhouse has extensive internal damage after roof and balcony leaks causing leaking and mould. Can I claim these repairs on insurance? I have been told the external work is my responsibility to repair also. Is this correct? So far, I have paid over $25,000 to replace the roof and repair the balcony.
My father-in-law lives in NSW and his strata was responsible for works to his shower because it was located on an external wall.
My balcony is above my lounge room, where most of the internal damage has occurred.
Answer: Units contained within a Class B property have boundaries that are unlimited in terms of height. This includes the structure of the unit.
On the surface, the advice you have been provided appears to be correct. Unlike titling in NSW, ACT legislation includes a provision for two separate unit titling systems, Class A and Class B – refer to Unit Titles Act 2001.
Units contained within a Class B property have boundaries that are unlimited in terms of height. This includes the structure of the unit.
The boundary of a class B unit is, in most cases, considered as the boundary of the land on which a townhouse has been built (or improvements to the land, such as a garage, etc.). Unit owners are responsible for all maintenance, repair, and improvement of everything inside the boundary of the unit, including the structure of the property and all fixtures (pipes, conduits, gardens, etc).
The Unit Titles (Management) Act 2001 provides the ability for an owners corporation to determine, via special resolution, to transfer responsibility for the maintenance of all buildings within a class B development. UTMA 2011 Section 24(g).
Regarding insurance, reference should be made to the specific cover the owners holds including any product disclosure statement, in consultation with the owners corporations managing agent and insurance broker.
Further information – Class A and B units
This post appears in Strata News #635.
Jack Stoker
Bright & Duggan
E: Jack.Stoker@bright-duggan.com.au
P: 02 9902 7100
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