All Maintenance & Common Property Articles

National

• Maintenance, Upgrades & OHS
  Strata Community Association
  Administering maintenance and upgrades is a continuous process for strata schemes.
  • Balcony maintenance. Apartment balconies can be subject to many problems, not only in respect of their ability to successfully drain water away from a lot and the common property.
  • Elevator maintenance and upgrades. All strata managers know that maintenance of a building’s plant and equipment is something they must do, but owners are sometimes reluctant because it means spending money.
  • Funding options for strata improvements. Strata improvements are almost always on the agenda for owners corporations. If it’s not mechanical or structural improvements, such as lift refurbishments or roofing repairs, it is aesthetic improvements such as painting or rendering. No sooner is one improvement addressed than another invariably crops up.
  • The new asbestos regime – how do you comply? From 1 January 2012 there were new requirements for asbestos that lift the depth and breadth of inspection, signage, planning and documentation. All states have pre-existing asbestos requirements: therefore in most states there is an expectation of immediate compliance.
• Asbestos Awareness
  A national site to increase people’s awareness of the risks of asbestos exposure when renovating.

New South Wales

• Fire safety and external wall cladding
  NSW Fair Trading. The NSW Government is working to address the fire safety risks associated with external wall cladding in high-rise buildings and has developed and started implementing a co-ordinated, whole of government policy response.
• Common property and the lot in a strata scheme

  NSW Fair Trading: A strata scheme is a residential building or a collection of buildings where each individual proprietor separately owns a small part, usually their apartment or townhouse. This small part is called ‘a lot’. There are other parts of a strata scheme building or property which are not part of anyone’s private lot. These parts are jointly owned by all the lot owners and are called common property.

• FAQs: Strata Schemes: Repairs & Maintenance
  NSW Fair Trading
• Neighbours and the law
  by Nadine Behan. Published by the Legal Information Access Centre (LIAC), State Library of New South Wales, 2012. An easy to understand guide to the different areas of law that are involved in neighbourhood issues and disputes. Covers areas that commonly cause problems between neighbours including dividing fences, common property, retaining walls, overhanging branches, animals and noise.
• Register your pool and spa
  NSW Government: Swimming Pool Register – From 29 October 2013, authorised officers may fine pool owners if their pool is not registered on the NSW Swimming Pool Register. Avoid a fine.

Queensland

• Body Corporate and Community Management Fact Sheet: Storm damage
  Developed by QLD: Department of Justice and Attorney-General.
  The storm that hit Brisbane and South-East Queensland on 27 November (and others like it) has caused loss, damage and inconvenience to many people. We extend our sympathy to those in community titles schemes who are experiencing difficulties because of the storm.

  We encourage lot owners and anyone involved in a body corporate to work together and to recognise that many people may be under stress at this difficult time.

  We have put this information together to help people in community title schemes deal with problems caused by the storm. This information is relevant to all schemes in Queensland.

• Safer Buildings: understanding the combustible cladding legislation
  Developed by Office of the Commissioner for BCCM and the QBCC.
  The Queensland Government recently amended legislation relating to cladding and, in particular, requirements for certain buildings to be assessed for potentially combustible cladding. To assist bodies corporate in understanding the new legislative requirements this information has been prepared.
• Maintenance of common property and lots
  Queensland Building and Construction Commission The purpose of these guidelines is to assist pool owners (including bodies corporate) and property agents to understand their pool safety responsibilities under the Building Act 1975 (BA).
• Guidelines for pool owners and property agents
  Oct 2015: Body Corporate and Community Management (BCCM) provide information on what is common property and what is required to be maintained by whom.

Victoria

• Property maintenance – owners corporations
  Consumer Affairs Victoria
  Including information concerning maintaining common property, renovating individual lots and maintenance plan.
• Victorian Statewide Cladding Audit
  Victorian Building Authority
  The VBA is leading the Victorian Statewide Cladding Audit on behalf of the Victorian Government.

Australian Capital Territory

• Factsheet: Service Contracts
  ACT Government: Justice and Community Safety
  Restrictions are placed on the term of all service contracts entered into after 31 March 2009. A service contract entered into in breach of the provisions is void.
• FactSheet 4: Class A Units – What, Special Issues, Maintenance
  Justice and Community Safety
  Class A units are different from class B units and other forms of land ownership in that they are limited in height, with boundaries defined by reference to floors, walls, and ceilings.
• FactSheet 5: Class B Units – What, Special Issues, Maintenance
  Justice and Community Safety
  Class B units are different from Class A units in that Class B units have boundaries unlimited in height (apart from any encroachments by another part of the parcel)

Tasmania

• What control does the body corporate have over activities by the lot owners on the common property?
  Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment: Land, Property and Titles

Western Australia

• Guide to Strata Title
  This publication contains a Strata Questions and Answers section (page 25) for strata owners and residents containing answers to common questions including:
  • I own a lot in a strata scheme established under the 1966 Strata Titles Act. When I bought my unit I thought I owned my garden and car bay, but now I’ve found out that these are common property. How can I own these areas as part of my lot?
  • What control does the strata company have over activities by the lot owners on the common property?
  • Who is liable to pay for the upkeep and maintenance of dividing fences? (sec 123 STA)