Question: In the common area, is the owners corporation responsible for the sewer line wholly or partially? If partially, how do we clarify this?
Answer: When it comes to sewer pipes, it depends on where they are located and what they service.
Pursuant to Part 2 Division 1 Section 4 of the Owners Corporation Act 2006, the Owners Corporation is responsible for maintenance of common property. The plan of subdivision determines what is common property. When it comes to sewer pipes, it depends on where they are located and what they service.
Without further information, it is impossible to make a determination of whether the pipe is an owners corporation responsibility. It should be noted that a reputable registered plumber would be able to assist and advise.
This post appears in Strata News #569.
Stratabase Holdings
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Our small OC hs been requesed to pay over $17,000 for repairs to a sewer pipe. Each Lot on the Plan has its own Title (Strata Titles Act 1967 Victoria) and the damage is in the pipe within the boundaries of 2 Lots, not on the common property.
Our Manager is maintaining it is the responsibility of the OC to pay for the repairs. As I understand it subdivisions under the Strata Titles Act 1967 had no common services as each was a separate land title. I am regstered as ‘Sole Proprietor” on the Title.
Can you please clarify who is responsible for the repairs?
Thank you
Hi Brigitte
We have just received this reply back from Fabienne Loncar, Chambers Russell Lawyers:
Determining whether an underground sewer line is common property or lot property is a recurring issue in older strata subdivisions. The answer is not simply a matter of where the pipe physically sits. Instead, Victorian law requires a functional and practical analysis, informed by the Subdivision Act 1988, the historical Strata Titles Act 1967 and VCAT’s approach in cases such as Naughton v Barter [2026] VCAT 196. The current authorities indicate that where an underground sewer line forms part of a shared system serving more than one lot, it will generally be treated as common property, regardless of where the pipe physically lies.
Under section 12 of the Strata Titles Act, early strata plans commonly included easements for the passage of sewerage, water and drainage. While these easements do not determine ownership, they suggest that sewerage infrastructure was intended to operate as a shared service.
When the Subdivision Act 1988 came into force, section 46 applied Schedule 2 to older strata plans. Clause 5 of Schedule 2 provides that where a boundary lies along a structure such as a wall, floor or ceiling, the boundary is taken to be the median of that structure. For underground pipes, this supports the idea that the services are located in common property.
A further consideration is whether the pipe forms part of a shared system, in which case it is likely common property. In Naughton v Barter, VCAT considered the ownership and responsibility for an underground drainage and sewerage system in an older 2 lot subdivision. It recognised that most older plans did not expressly divide ownership of underground systems and that such systems were typically designed to service multiple lots. VCAT emphasised the functional and shared use of the system and, given it benefited all owners, protected the common property and reduced the risk of liability for the owners corporation, it treated the system as a shared service and therefore a responsibility of the owners corporation.
Liability limited by a scheme approved under Professional Standards Legislation.
Fabienne Loncar
Chambers Russell Lawyers
W: chambersrussell.com.au
E: floncar@chambersrussell.com.au
T: 0414310961
This information is not intended to be personal advice and you should not rely on it as a substitute for any form of advice.