Question: The balustrades in our old building require maintenance. They do not meet current height requirements. Can we repair the existing balustrades, or do we need to update the railing height to meet current safety requirements?
Our 6-pack block of double brick units is about 25 years old. The iron balustrades have rust, and we are considering replacing them with powder-coated aluminium of a similar design. The existing railings are 960 cm high, and we have learnt that the current safety requirement is 1000 cm.
What are our obligations regarding replacement? Can we treat the rust and repaint the existing balustrades, or must we replace the balustrades to conform with the current height regulations?
Answer: There is no obligation to improve the balustrades or change the height requirements as part of the maintenance responsibility under the BCCMA (however, an obligation may exist through the advice from a certifier).
The answer to the direct question would require the engagement of a certifier. I can confirm, however that from a body corporate perspective:
- If the lots are created in a building format plan – the maintenance responsibility and cost would usually fall to the body corporate;
- There is no obligation to improve the balustrades or change the height requirements as part of the maintenance responsibility under the BCCMA (however, an obligation may exist through the advice from a certifier);
- If an improvement is required or chosen by the committee – a different approval threshold at general meeting may be required depending on the ultimate cost.
This post appears in Strata News #649.
Todd Garsden
Mahoneys
E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au
P: 07 3007 3753
We have a Unit with a balcony on the 2nd floor in a block of 6 Units on the Gold Coast. Units were built in 1977. Plan shows the Lot boundary on the outside of the balustrade on the balcony. The balcony is part of the Lot. There is just open air between the top of the balustrade and the ceiling over the balcony.
Q1 Is Body Corp responsible for the maintenance of the sliding doors in the brick wall that is between the living area and the balcony? What is the Regulation No?
Q2 Is the answer the same for all Units? What about the Units on the ground Level.?
After purchasing the Unit all the Unit owners decide to enclose the balconies with sliding windows installed from floor to ceiling just 50mm inside the balustrade.
Q3 Who is responsible for maintenance of the sliding windows installed from floor to ceiling just inside the balustrade? What is the Regulation No?
Q4 Does this change the maintenance responsibility for the sliding doors in the brick wall between the living area and the balcony?
Q5 The Ground Floor Units have sliding doors in the windows installed just inside the balustrade that lead out onto the common property. Who is responsible for these sliding doors in the ground floor Units?
Q6 Where is the boundary wall located?
Hi John
Depending on your building, one of these articles should assist:
QLD: Building Format Plan Maintenance
QLD: Standard Format Plan Maintenance
Our small scheme committee held an EGM that was not advised to all owners. That is being dealt with. One of my concerns is that the two committee members approved a swag of items for themselves, most of which include use of common area, and one of which included an improvement to only one owners balcony, street facing at a cost to the owners committee. This owner has wanted additional drainage on their balcony since they purchased 2 years ago, have raised multiple times. Have been advised multiple times an owners expense with approval required by the committee as it will be on common property and change the aesthetics. The particular owner is one of the two committee members and they have put it now under the guise of maintenance to common property rather than an improvement for their lot. Therefore an expense to the OC. The other committee member has consistently been sending a stream of water over their balcony, collecting up to 10 litres in containers below each time. I believe the next step will be to have the OC pay for additional drainage and guttering to be added to their lot. Balconies are on the title of the owner and it has been established in the past that it is owners responsibility for maintenance or any improvement they want. Please advise.
Hi Debbie
In this instance, you’d be best to seek legal advice.
Hi, I have a strata titled townhouse and the balcony timber railings have gone rotten.
Would like to know if the balcony railing is something strata pays for or it’s the owners responsibility.
Thanks so much.
our complex in queensland have quarterly :balcony cleaning: were owners are allowed to hose within there balcony area,this results in units below the unit to have dirty water pour into there balconies.
As there is no need to clean there balcony in that manner i.e.the unit balcony floor and bacon sides can be swept or mopped resulting in no dirty water being discharged.
The Body Corporate insist this is legal is this correct.
Three tiles in my balcony cracked dew to work in the lower unit which was arranged by the Body Corporate.
Informed the Body Corporate and they send a tiler to have a look and was told it will be difficult to match the colour because of the years of the building and the other option is to seal the crack with a special sealant which will last for years. Called the Body Corp and told them what the tiler told me. I told them to follow the tiler recommendation. The crack was sealed and after 16 months the tiles lifted and I informed the Body Corp and was told it is not their responsibility and also it was 16 months ago. I expect it to last at least a couple of years. The Body Corp arranged for the tiler to rectify the tiles. I wonder what are my rights and have I to bear the cost of replacing the tiles.
Thank you
I have sheets of perspex attached by cable ties on the inslde of my balcony to shelter me from the wind. They have been there more than 5 years. I have just been instructed to remove them immediately by the bodycorp because I am breaking a bylaw. What rights do I have please?
I think the reason would be appearance of lot
So maybe change materials
Check first
Cheers
A few Owners in our Accommodation Module in a 2 storey 19 Apartment Block have applied, as per ByLaw dated 2002, to fit air conditioners to the balcony of their Lots. The Chiller has been decommissioned because of leaks and problems and many Owners are elderly and are feeling the cold. They are awaiting approval to fit their A/c’s at the next AGM which is due July/August.
Can the Body Corporate hold up the approval process until after the AGM so that they can add 14 extra requirements to fit A/con’s to the By-Laws?
Hi Anthony
The following response has been provided by Chris Irons, Hynes Legal:
I’m not clear what you are asking. Is approval going to be considered at the AGM? If so and approval is given at the AGM then that is the end of the matter.
I’m not sure where the ’14 extra requirements’ come into play. Are they conditions that are being considered at the AGM? Or conditions that the committee is imposing on approval through the by-laws?
Either way, a body corporate can impose reasonable conditions. What is ‘reasonable’ differs from case to case. Is 14 ‘extra requirements’ reasonable? It really depends on what those requirements are. They may be depending on the building but equally, may not be, particularly if the person seeking approval has already put forward several different options and already complied with several different conditions.
If someone feels that the conditions being imposed as part of approval are unreasonable, they can dispute that, but I do think some clarification is needed firstly on the points raised above.
Our Body Corporate fees of $30,000 plus have been used for the removal and replacement of two separate private Lot balconies. No quotes, no budget no approvals, where do we stand as owners with our funds used within private Lots and not on common property?
We have a BC nonvoting committee member/caretaker that has removed and replaced balcony floor tiles within two separate private Lot balconies using over $30,000 of our BC levies to do so.
No budget allowance no BC committee approvals or quotes or approved work orders.
Sadly the voting committee members are canvassed annually from the Caretakers letting pool. Other owners who wished to join the committee are slandered by the Caretaker. The BC voting committee all letting pool clients turn a blind eye on what is happening to our BC funds spent outside the common property requirements.
All lots include balconies to the common property boundaries. Both balconies had multiple layers of tiles re-laid therefore not laid when the property was first developed.
Hi Maxim
We have responded to your question in the above article.
We live in a top floor unit and have had efflorescence coming up through our balcony tiles. We cannot understand where the water is coming from as the unit is 15 years old. We have just regrouted and the same problem is happening again. We can only guess that a water pipe may be broken inside and coming up through the tiles on the balcony. If so, is that our responsibility to have an engineer come and find where the water is coming from or is it the strata responsibility.
Thank you
Hi Shirley
We have responded to your comment in the article above.
Thanks for the reply. However, in this instance the pool deck is actually an easement of shelter for the lot and other lots. Therefore, the wall with the windows and doors adjoins an area that the body corporate is required to maintain. This instance is very different to typical cases of balcony door instances. Your advice please. Thanks. Vito.
Hi Vito
As you could appreciate, these matters are very difficult to comment on without all of the facts eg sighting the Strata Plan. We are only able to offer limited general information. For more detailed information, we suggest you seek legal advice.
Hi. In the case of a top floor unit that has glass doors that open to the unit’s private pool area, who is responsible for maintaining the glass doors separating the internal part of the lot to the open deck area? The open floor areas surrounding the pool and the pool essentially form an easement of shelter for the area below. The building is in Qld and is under the Standard Module. Thanks.
Hi Vito
We have received this reply from Hayley Gath, Mathews Hunt Legal:
Assuming that the internal part of the unit and the private pool area all part of the lot, the owner will be responsible for the glass doors that separate the two areas. This is because the glass doors are not located on a boundary between a lot and the common property (s.169(2)(a)(ii) of the Standard Module).