Question: The flooring of balconies is the responsibility of lot owners. Owners are not maintaining these floors. Should we repair the flooring using reserve funds?
Maintenance of our balconies is a strata company responsibility. The balconies need repair. However, lot owners are responsible for maintaining the balcony’s wooden flooring.
Lot owners have not been maintaining the wooden floors. How do we ensure this maintenance is carried out in the future? Should rectification be a lot owner cost, or should we use the reserve fund?
Answer: Strata company funds cannot be used on works that are the responsibility of lot owners.
I suggest reviewing the strata plan in depth. If the balconies are common property and need repair, the strata scheme should be repaired from strata funds. If the wooden floors are lot owner responsibility/ownership, each owner is responsible for maintaining the flooring at their own cost.
Strata company funds cannot be used on works that are the responsibility of lot owners, so the scheme should enforce maintenance by the lot owner. If the lot owner has failed to maintain a surface they are required to maintain, and this has caused damage to common property, the strata can seek costs for the damage. If your strata plan or by-laws are unclear, a by-law could be considered that provides clarity of maintenance, responsibility and costs for lot owner’s fixtures/improvements.
This post appears in the February 2024 edition of The WA Strata Magazine.
Jamie Horner
Empire Estate Agents
E: JHorner@empireestateagents.com
P: (08) 9262 0400
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