WA: Strata door frame repairs: How to determine who is responsible before approving costs

This article discusses strata door frame repair responsibility and why the strata plan must be checked before approving repair costs.

Question: Our strata manager is pressuring the strata council to approve the cost of repair to the chairperson’s door frame. No clarification has been given about who is responsible for the repair. What do we do?

I have newly been elected to the owners council in WA and I’m receiving pressure from our strata manager to approve funds for repairs of a doorframe to the chairperson’s unit. The strata manager is unwilling to confirm if this repair is our responsibility, only that it is considered ‘general wear and tear’ and is not covered by our insurance.

I have reviewed our bylaws and the Act, but neither have provided any clarity. I do not feel comfortable approving without knowing. What should I do?

Answer: The most important thing to establish is what is written on the strata plan.

Congratulations on being elected to the Strata Council.

The most important thing to establish is what is written on the strata plan.

There are a number of different sections of the Strata Titles Act (STA) that determine where the boundaries are and in most instances these are disclosed on the strata plan itself.

Example

Section 3(2)(a) – the boundaries are to the inner surfaces of the floor, walls and ceiling.

This also means that any door or window forming the boundary of the Lot and common property is also regarded as a wall and would be common property.

All you own is the cubic air space inside. The walls, floor and ceiling would be common property.

Section 3(2)(b)

The boundaries may extend to the external surfaces of the walls meaning that the owner is responsible for any door or window.

Section 3AB

The boundaries of the buildings shown on the strata plan are the external surfaces of those buildings plus attachments.

All the building is the responsibility of the owner.

Then there are Survey-Strata Plans.

Again, all the buildings that exist within the boundary of the Lot shown on the survey-strata plan are the owners responsibility

In Summary

I cannot say who is responsible to repair, maintain or replace the door frame without seeing a copy of the strata plan itself; and even then, there may be by-laws registered that allocate the repair responsibility to the owner.

These are the usual things that happen in strata and it pays to have a good understanding of who is responsible to repair, replace or maintain things.

This post appears in Strata News #543.

Shane White
Strata Title Consult
E: shane.white@stratatitleconsult.com.au