Question: In our block of 20 units, we do not have individual water meters. The water isolating valve in my unit is broken. Is the repair an owners corporation or owner’s cost?
Answer: Unless your scheme has adopted the common property memorandum, the position is unclear.
Unless your scheme has adopted the common property memorandum, the position is unclear. If you have adopted it, the stopcock to the unit is the responsibility of the owners corporation. If you have not, there is no clear answer.
One view is that because the valve services only one lot and is wholly within the lot space, it is a lot owner’s responsibility. Another view is that due to the importance of the valve, it should be the responsibility of the owners corporation.
However, generally speaking, many adopt the earlier view that the isolating valve is lot property as it sits within the lot space and services only one lot.
Leanne Habib Premium Strata E: info@premiumstrata.com.au P: 02 9281 6440
This post appears in the July 2025 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.