WA: Can a strata by-law transfer roof and building insurance to individual lot owners?

Question: Our small strata scheme has ageing flat tin roofs and a low maintenance fund balance. Can a by-law make each owner responsible for their roof and building insurance? The strata company will look after the common driveway.

I’m a councillor on a 7-unit site. Our strata company has insurance on the roof and building. Our units are aging, as are our flat tin roofs. Can we create a by-law that assigns maintenance responsibility for each lot’s building and roof, and assigns insurance to the lot owner? The strata company will look after the common driveway. There is nowhere near enough in our strata maintenance fund to look after all roofs.

Answer: No. A built strata cannot transfer roof and building insurance responsibility to individual lot owners with a bylaw, as this is a mandatory statutory duty of the strata company.

In Western Australia, a by-law cannot transfer responsibility for the roof or building insurance to individual lot owners if the scheme is a built strata (i.e., the building sits across the lot boundaries). The Strata Titles Act 1985 (WA) (the Act) requires the strata company to insure the building and all structural elements, including the roof.

Why the strata company must insure the building

Under section 97 of the Act, a strata company for a built-strata scheme must take out insurance for:

• the building (including the roof, walls, foundations, and structural elements)
• fixtures and improvements
• damage from events such as fire, storm, and impact
• public liability for common property

This is a mandatory statutory duty. A by-law cannot override or remove this obligation.

Why individual owners cannot insure their own roofs

Even if each owner agreed, the law does not allow:

• splitting the building into individually insured portions
• requiring owners to insure their own roof or structural components
• limiting the strata company’s insurance to only the driveway or common areas

Private insurance policies also cannot replace the strata company’s building insurance because:

• insurers will not insure “part of a building” where the structure is shared
• claims become unworkable when multiple insurers cover different parts of the same building
• the Act requires a single, scheme-wide building policy

This post appears in Strata News #798.

Luke Downie
WA Strata Consultant
E: luked0876@gmail.com
P: 0456 589 639