Can the body corporate request that lot owners have their air conditioning unit serviced each year and require proof that this has happened? We just had an a/c unit catch fire on a balcony and it caused quite a bit of damage and of course is a safety concern for other owners.
Answer: A body corporate would not usually be able to enforce that an owner be regularly servicing an A/C unit to prevent a fire within the building.
If in this instance we are talking about an air-conditioning unit that is for the sole use of one lot (e.g. a split system) then the maintenance, upkeep and any other facet of running is the sole responsibility of the owner of the lot. In QLD a building format plan will have various utility infrastructure traversing lots and common properties, often through the walls, roof and floors. A utility such as air-conditioning even if the system is on common property, is up to the owner of the lot to maintain if it is for their sole use only.
A body corporate would not usually be able to enforce that an owner be regularly servicing an A/C unit to prevent a fire within the building. Similarly they do not enforce that the lint filter in a dryer be regularly cleaned and changed at the risk of a fire starting within a unit.
The building should have appropriate fire safety installations and an evacuation plan (reviewed annually) in place to ensure that in the event of a fire starting from any source, occupants can evacuate and the building can be preserved with fire fighting equipment.
Whilst we are not lawyers, should a fire result from an individual lot owner’s lack of maintenance the usual course of action would be that the Body Corporate Insurer would chase the lot owner’s insurer for any damages to common property.
This post appears in the May 2021 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Dakota Panetta Solutions in Engineering E: dakotap@solutionsinengineering.com P: 1300 136 036