Question: In a Building Format Plan, where is the boundary point between the lot and the common property? If an owner drills and screws into a boundary wall, why aren’t they making an improvement to common property?
An owner notified the committee they plan to renovate their kitchen, bathroom and laundry. These renovations include replacing the cabinets attached to boundary walls. The total cost of these works is estimated to be >$3,000.
Our building is under the Building Format Plan(BFP); no specific by-laws cover renovations.
Our body corporate manager advised that given the works are contained within the lot, approval for the works is not required. These are not improvements to common property.
In a BFP, where is the boundary point between the lot and the common property? If an owner drills and screws into a boundary wall, why aren’t they making an improvement to the common property?
Answer: Simply drilling into a boundary wall does not always equate to an improvement to the common property.
In a Building Format Plan, the boundary of lots is the midpoint of the structural elements (such as the boundary walls). If the boundary is between two lots, there is no common property involved – it is the two separate lots.
Common property will only come into the equation if the wall in question is the boundary separating the lot and the common property. However, simply drilling into a boundary wall does not always equate to an improvement to the common property. The work would need to extend beyond the midpoint of that wall (not the first paint layer).
This post appears in the July 2023 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753