Question: Our building has a ventilation system servicing the apartments. The vent in our bathroom is not working. I’ve informed the strata manager but the matter has not been resolved. Isn’t this an emergency repair?
I live in a walk-up apartment building on the Gold Coast. The building has a ventilation unit and ductwork in the roof, that services the apartments. One of the vents in our apartment is no longer working. It is not extracting any air at all. This is located in the ensuite, a room that has no window.
We have 2 other vents, in the bathroom and the laundry, that are both working.
This fault was reported to the Body Corporate Managers and BC Committee. An electrician attended, however even though they agreed that our duct was not working, the fans were working and he could not locate the problem. The advice given was to call a tradesperson with specific knowledge of ventilation and ducting system.
The Body Corporate Committee is now refusing to do anything else to fix the problem of our non-functioning duct.
There is now no ventilation at all in our ensuite to extract stale air from the toilet or steam from the shower. It is my understanding that it is illegal for a bathroom/toilet without a window to not have mechanical ventilation, therefore, I would class this as an emergency repair. What are my options if the Body Corporate Committee refuses to fix this?
Answer: Avoid assuming this is a body corporate issue unless you can be sure it is.
Your first step is to establish if it is the body corporate’s responsibility to fix. In this case, while I agree it seems as though this is a body corporate responsibility, you would need to also eliminate the possibility that you have any responsibility as an owner, for example, that you have failed to maintain any part of the ducting you were supposed to maintain. Please note, I’m not suggesting you haven’t met your responsibilities, I’m saying you should avoid assuming this is a body corporate issue unless you can be sure it is. Given the body corporate are seemingly not engaging with you about it, I wonder if they have some basis for believing it is not their responsibility.
Assuming it is a body corporate responsibility, you would put a quote to the body corporate to fix the problem. It isn’t clear from your query if you have done this following the first contractor visit. Noting their recommendation to get a specialised tradesperson in, you should try to arrange that, if you haven’t already done so.
I can’t comment if this is an ‘emergency’ repair or not. Again, best not to assume it is, or that it is ‘illegal’, as you suggest, and instead, get some concrete advice one way or the other. Body corporate legislation does not define ‘emergency’.
Ultimately, if you have established all of the above, put a motion to the committee (which is your right as owner) and if it is refused, you can dispute that decision through the Commissioner’s Office.
This post appears in the December 2022 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Chris Irons
Strata Solve
E: chris@stratasolve.com.au
P: 0419 805 898
While I understand strata legislation provides necessary structure around responsibility and decision-making, the practical experience for residents can feel overly complex when dealing with straightforward maintenance issues such as basic building services and habitability concerns.
In practice, even relatively simple issues can become difficult to resolve due to procedural requirements, technical responsibility distinctions, and escalation pathways that are not always easy for owners to navigate.
In some cases — particularly in smaller schemes where voting power is concentrated — outcomes can be heavily influenced by majority decision-making, even where the result may not feel reasonable to all owners. In larger schemes, the same complexity can arise through process, layers of management, and communication gaps. Either way, the effect can be the same: delays and frustration in resolving basic issues.
While the legislation includes a requirement for decisions to be reasonable, in practice this can be difficult to test or enforce without formal dispute processes.
There may be scope to simplify certain processes or improve practical guidance so that common building maintenance and livability issues can be resolved more efficiently, without reducing the governance or accountability the framework is intended to provide.