Question: Can an owner insist on a tilt garage door if the strata company wants to standardise on cheaper roller doors?
Our strata company plans to standardise garage doors across the scheme. The current tilt garage doors are the strata company’s responsibility. They’re considering replacing them with roller doors, which cost half as much. One owner feels a roller door is inferior and is insisting on a tilt door.
Can an owner insist on a tilt door option, and if so, does the strata company need to provide it rather than standardising on roller doors?
Answer: An individual owner does not have the right to dictate the type of replacement simply because they believe one option is superior.
No, the owner cannot insist on a tilt door option that the strata company must adhere to. Because the garage doors are common property, the strata company is responsible for their maintenance, repair, renewal and replacement under section 91(1)(c) of the Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA). There is no requirement that replacement be like‑for‑like, and an individual owner does not have the right to dictate the type of replacement simply because they believe one option is superior.
However, as replacing tilt doors with roller doors is not a like‑for‑like replacement, it would need to be treated as an alteration or improvement under section 91(2). This means the approval requirements in section 102 apply. If the cost per lot is under $500, the change may be approved by ordinary resolution. If the cost per lot exceeds $500, a special resolution is required. Provided the correct resolution is validly passed at a properly convened general meeting, or via a compliant vote outside a meeting, the strata company may proceed with standardising the doors, and the owner cannot require a tilt door instead.
This post appears in the April 2026 edition of The WA Strata Magazine.
Courtney Butters-Kerr
B Strata
E: operations@bstratawa.com.au
P: 08 9382 7700
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