This article discusses strata shared driveway cost responsibility and how the strata plan decides who pays for common property maintenance.
Question: At our strata plan of 5 townhouses in Perth, 4 lots share the main driveway and the fifth lot has a separate entry. Should the fifth lot contribute to the shared costs of either tree or driveway maintenance?
Answer: The Strata Plan and bylaws will determine who is responsible for the costs of the maintenance of the common property.
The Strata Plan and bylaws will determine who is responsible for the costs of the maintenance of the common property.
In a circumstance like this, there would need to be a bylaw in place that would remove the 5th owner from the responsibility of sharing the costs of the driveway. Unit 5’s separate driveway area may also be common property and therefore require all lots to share the costs to maintain this area too.
The Strata Company (all 5 owners) are responsible for the repairs/maintenance and replacement when required of the common property.
If the common property is the driveway, trees, garden beds, etc as per the Strata Plan, and there is no registered bylaw that says these areas are a shared cost for the 4 units and excludes the 5th owner, then it is a shared cost for all 5 units.
If the driveway, gardens etc for Unit 5 are common property, and not determined as a part lot on the Strata Plan, then all 5 owners will be required to share the costs for these common areas also.
It is important to determine what is common property as per the Strata Plan, check the bylaws to see if any additional bylaws/management statement have been lodged, and this will determine who shares the costs for the repairs/maintenance/replacement of the common property.
This post appears in Strata News #538.
Shelley Fitzgerald
Emerson Raine
E: shelley@emersonraine.com.au
P: 9330 3959
Leave a Reply