Question: My letterbox has been damaged. It is located with the other eleven letterboxes on the front wall of the complex. Is it my responsibility to repair my letterbox, or should the body corporate carry out this maintenance?
Answer: Responsibility for the letterboxes really comes down to whether or not the letterboxes are marked as a unit subsidiary area or are part of the common property.
Responsibility for the letterboxes really comes down to whether or not the letterboxes are marked as a unit subsidiary area or are part of the common property. Whilst I would refer you back to your Strata plan to confirm, I would suggest under most circumstances, these areas we say are usually sitting on common property (particularly if they are part of a bank of boxes). These boxes may form part of a bank of letterboxes, or fixed inside a brick wall. Common property (including letterboxes) therefore is a Strata Corporation responsibility to maintain and keep in a serviceable manner.
Now each unit does have its own letterbox and these will have the potential to wear at different rates, particularly if mistreated. It is safe to say that if the damage to one box has been caused by a Tenant or Owner breaking a lock, losing a key, being rough, or purposefully damaging it, that the Tenant or Owner in question would be responsible for the repairs required. However if the damage is simply the age of the letterbox openings, deterioration over time, etc, then if part of common property, these repairs would be handled collectively.
It may also pay to see whether or not there have been resolutions passed, or Articles altered which outline a different outcome to the one we breakdown above for your specific Strata Title complex.
This post appears in Strata News #468.
Tony Johnson
Stratarama
E: Tony@stratarama.com.au
P: 08 8276 0426
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