Question: Is it the responsibility of the owners corporation to service and maintain the grease trap?
I work at an apartment complex and the grease trap is located on common property on P2 carpark level. The grease trap is located in a room behind the carwash bay. Is it the responsibility of the owner’s corporation to service and maintain the grease trap?
Answer: Refer back to the SMS and check the schedules
In short, in our experience of similar circumstances – yes.
It sounds like you have entered into a mixed-use strata complex. If so, it’s highly likely that this forms part of the “Shared Facilities” within the Strata Management Statement (“SMS”) and will have a small contribution from all Building Management Committee (“BMC”) members which the Strata Plan and Retail make up. The SMS will have a schedule of all the items/assets the BMC contributes to, including the various “onsite grease traps and tanks”. I would refer back to the SMS and check the schedules. In our experience, with a BMC type of set-up, the contribution from the Strata Plan for that particular asset is minimal. It can range anywhere between (3-10%) with the main contribution coming from the retails lots.
Even without a BMC, the “trade waste plumbing system” forms part of the overall hydraulic design that all lot owners contribute. However, you can still seek advice from a hydraulic consultant if there has been an overuse or abuse of the grease trap. In some instances, it would be worth checking if the grease trap services the car wash bay. Depending on when the complex was built, all carwash bays must have a separate grease arrestor to the grease trap. However, this development could have a particular case that warrants further investigation.
Dino Biordi LUNA – The Building Management Company E. dino@luna.management P: 1800 00 LUNA (5862)