Question: Our body corporate is considering replacing garage doors. If some owners want taller doors, why should they be responsible for all future maintenance or door replacements?
We have a unit on the Sunshine Coast in a 30 year old building. The body corporate is considering replacing garage doors. Some owners would like to pay the difference to increase the height of their garage doors.
The body corporate committee states that if lot owners increase the height of their doors, they will be responsible for all future maintenance or door replacements. How is this fair when the increase is only around 5% of the total door. The alteration is to improve accessibility into the owner’s garage?
Answer: If you want something individualised to your lot (a taller garage door) that’s fine, but it is now wholly your responsibility..
From the information provided here, it sounds like the position of the body corporate is correct.
Generally, body corporate law is established to allow everyone to have the same thing or for items specific to a lot to be the responsibility of that lot owner. These are the principles being applied here. They make good sense.
If everyone has the same garage door, most people can accept and understand that they share the costs of paying for their neighbour’s door repairs, safe in the knowledge that their own door will be repaired when the time comes. However, if you have to pay more to maintain your neighbour’s door while they pay less to maintain yours, that’s an inequity people won’t tolerate.
Of course, you are not suggesting that people pay more or less – only that the percentages of what they may be more finely graduated. Unfortunately, the current legal structure doesn’t really allow this kind of fine line administration. So, if you want something individualised to your lot (a taller garage door) that’s fine, but it is now wholly your responsibility.
One other possibility is that you could vote on making all garage doors taller. Taller garage doors would be an improvement to the common property. If enough owners voted in favour, all owners could get a taller door while keeping them as common property.
This post appears in the March 2023 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924