Question: My unit’s air conditioner condenser is in a locked room on common property. Who is responsible for the maintenance of the air conditioner?
My new unit’s air conditioner condenser is in a locked room on body corporate common property. Although I’m happy to service and maintain the condenser as if it is my asset, my contract doesn’t say I own it. I have Home and Contents insurance, but I am unsure if the air conditioner is covered, as it is not on my plan or Title. Who is responsible for the maintenance of the air conditioner?
Answer: Do the by-laws for your scheme reference ownership of the air conditioners?
Is it just your unit that has this, or are others in the same position? In terms of responsibility, check with your body corporate manager. However, you can also consult the BCCM guides on responsibility:
- Building format plan and building units plan maintenance
- Standard format plan and group titles plan maintenance
It sounds like you may be in a building format plan. If that’s the case, you are responsible for utility infrastructure (including equipment and associated wiring and pipes) that is on common property if it only services that lot and is a hot water system, washing machine, clothes dryer, air-conditioner, or similar equipment.
All three conditions must be met for it to be your responsibility. So:
- the item must be an air conditioner – yes
- it must be on common property – yes, from the description and
- it must only service your lot – probably, but we don’t know
If requested, the body corporate must give you reasonable access to the condenser to carry out maintenance.
If you are in a standard format scheme, the body corporate is responsible for utility infrastructure (like equipment, pipes and wiring) that is on common property, or in a boundary structure, or services more than 1 lot. Here, the condenser is on common property but it sounds like it only services your lot.
You may also need to consider the by-laws for your scheme. Do they reference ownership of the air conditioners? Your body corporate manager should be able to give you an answer, and you can cross-reference that against this information.
This post appears in the November 2024 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
As owners of a bottom unit 2 we had water coming into our bedroom. After looking in the manhole and found that there was a builder defect with unit 4 pipe not hooked up to an outlet drain. This was never picked up during building builders warranty as the owners before had never used that aircon unit S only two people lived there.
The unit owner above will not do anything as they believe its a builders defect and body corp are saying its their responsibility for the piping in the ceiling. In the meantime we have had to open a wall and hook a pipe up so the water is running into a bucket now.
The air conditioning company who worked for the builder has now passed away and the builder is not responding as its over 7 years . For defects. The building was built 2016
Thank you
Hi Kell
We have responded to your comment within this article: QLD: Q&A Responsibility to Repair Common Property and Defects
My new unit’s air conditioner condenser is in a locked room on body corporate common property. My contract doesn’t say that I own the condenser.
I am happy to service and maintain it if it is my asset. I have Home and Contents insurance, but I am unsure if it would be covered as it is not on my Plan or Title in Qld.
Can you clarify who is responsible for the maintenance of the air conditioner.
I have responded to your question in the article above.
A new Owner has just purchased the top 2nd floor unit in our building and is requesting to make changes to common property:
(a) move the 2 air conditioning units currently on his balcony onto common property to make more useable space and tidy-up his balcony. He wants to locate both condensor/motors on brackets in the space under his main bedroom which sits directly above the Lot Owner’s main bedroom windows below. These would hang above the driveway and garage doors.
(b) requesting to install a brand-new air conditioner to 2nd bedroom on the other side of the building – placing the condenser/motor on brackets under that bedroom window and again sits directly above the Lot Owner’s bedroom window below. This new a/c motor would hang above the main common walkway to stairwells, front-doors and laundry doors.
Currently the Committee has approved all air conditioning to be located on Lot balconies. Previously a different Lot requested to install a window box air conditioner on 2nd floor over the common walkway was rejected.
I am the Lot Owner directly below where the new Owner wants to locate the 3 air conditioning motors on common property above both of my bedrooms. I am also on the Committee, hence I was aware of this request. After much research and discussion with other Committee member with regards to the location on common property, noise factors to other lot owners, safety issues, looking at this request holistically in the interests of the whole building, etc. It was decided to reject his request, with a thorough response detailing our reasons, and suggesting that all a/c motors remain on his balcony.
He has responded saying he does not necessarily agree with our reasons about location and noise concerns (new a/c’s aren’t noisy?) and that the 2nd bedroom a/c is an absolute requirement due to his brother having a medical condition and that to reconsider our decision. He said the motor for this bedroom cannot be located on the balcony and suggested installing this motor on the rear of the building? This would just impact 2 other Lot Owners/also sitting near their bedroom windows.
Taking all of this into consideration, we are thinking that the best way forward is to approve he can install the a/c motor for 2nd bedroom on the roof. (We do not want to approve the 2 motors off the balcony onto the roof).
What things do we need to ensure we cover in our response of installation and responsibilities? Plus how does this decision impact future decisions for other Lot Owners who then say they also want to put motors on the roof? We will probably need to get a new roof in the next several years (built in 1981) so who is responsible for removal and reinstallation of any a/c units on the roof when we do get a new roof installed?
Why should the Body Corporate pay for the extra work/trades that this will entail when that time comes?
Hi Linda
We are unable to assist with specific queries. We suggest you seek legal advice.
Thanks
Re Ducted AC installed by unit owner with condensor, piping and ducting on common property…#605 on 21st Sep 2022.
This is just one of the many areas of our strata law where I see one set of laws (eg improvements to common property by an owner for an owner) saying one thing, and another set (eg statutory easements) saying something else.
For example…Air con is a utility service, and the equipment is utility infrastructure (Act Schedule 6 -Dictionary). The BCCM Act (ss-67-68),and ss.115O-115P of the Land Titles Act 1994, seem to create something called a statutory easement in favour of an owner – against either another owner or the body corporate – which allows an owner to install ac wherever they like, as long as it does unreasonably prevent or interfere with the others use and enjoyment, and they do not need consent from either the other owner or the body corporate.
Is there any strata lawyer out there who can explain how to reconcile what seems to be irreconcilable contradictions like this.
When the air conditioner unit has been installed on the external wall of the common property after approval by the committee, does the owner need any other approval by the body corporate at a general meeting because it in on the common property.
The VBA document is a good summary of the risk of children climbing and then going over the top of the barrier (balustrade). This hazard is similar to that currently enforced for swimming pool fences. I understand there are many existing installations of aircon condensers or planter boxes that would not be compliant, hence the resistance. As to furniture its best practice currently carried out to tether outdoor furniture or otherwise fix so they cant be moved close to the balustrade. I would think the simplest solution is to mount the condensor above the height of the balustrade (off a side wall of the balcony). This is more expensive to do and involves additional safety practices for the installers, which is why it hasnt been generally adopted in the past.
An owner has installed his air conditioning compressor and piping on common property without authority. Is there any circumstances where a Qld Body Corporate can be held to be responsible for those unauthorised installations eg repair, maintenance
REGISTER OF AUTHORISATIONS: Regarding the installation of an aircon by an owner on common property for the benefit of the owner. Once approval is given, bodies corporate are required under s.197 of the Accommodation Module (or s.199 of the Standard Module). to record these authorisations, along with details of the conditions, in an Authorisations Register. Few do. Establishing and maintaining ‘corporate memory’ systems is not a strong suit for most bodies corporate, who tend to live for the moment.
We are a 2 storey Apartment block. The Gold Coast City Council have specific day and night noise level requirements. The Body Corp requires that all Owners apply to the B/Corp Committee for approval of their individual A/c. There are 1,2,and 3bedroom Apartments. How does the Body Corp carry out these individual approvals?
Hi Anthony
The following response has been provided by Chris Irons, Hynes Legal:
We need to be clear what you are referring to here. The usual way of things is that the committee would have power to approve installation of the air-conditioner. The committee must act reasonably and acting reasonably varies from case to case. The committee needs to consider things such as what work might be needed to install and what impact it has on common property. Does the installation also mean needing access to another lot? Will it cause noise for a period of time?
The committee can’t unreasonably withhold approval. Again, that varies from case to case but might mean, for example, that the committee refuses on the grounds that it ‘doesn’t look nice’.
If you’re an owner seeking to install you’d make the request in writing and with some information such as plans or a description of the work – in other words, enough information to enable a reasonable decision to be made.
Question. Replacement of underground car park gate? Common area. Should we seek Body Corporate approval if the design/look change considerably? Open mesh style has been requested? I am concerned if open restricts privacy – airflow – birds flying in and nesting? Other is colour of gate. Should all this need BC or just committee?
Thanks
Hi Ron
This response from Frank Higginson:
If you are ‘improving’ something you need general meeting approval. To me, those changes are of a nature to constitute an improvement.
What if it is below the ordinary resolution improvement range?
Don’t replace, repair the external unit is only a part get a new one and shortly after attend to the interior part.
Air conditioning can cause many problems and some of these problems are cause by a/c contractors trying to take the easy way out for the installation. In the complex of town houses in which I reside we have a by-law that stipulates that a/c units must be mounted at the back of the town house so it is not viewable from the street and only at floor level. On many occasions the A/c contractor tried to avoid this requirement but fortunately the caretaker/manager was technically minded and showed how the installation could be done. The body corporate did go to the conmissioner on one occasion and did win the case although because the A/c had already been installed the owner was advised to build a trellis around the a/c unit to cover I in such a way that the view from the street was acceptable-all installations requested now are monitored to such an extent that installers have been advised on Occassion to change their Neto’s of installation to meet by-law requirements including painting any conduit to match the colour of the building. We also check to ensure any damage to sarking is repaired