WA: Q&A Who is responsible for air conditioner maintenance in WA strata?

This Q&A article is about who is responsible for air conditioner maintenance in WA strata.

Question: My apartment’s air conditioning unit is in a locked maintenance room with other apartment AC units. Our council of owners say that although the unit is located on common property, lot owners are responsible for maintenance. Who is responsible for air conditioner maintenance in WA strata?

Answer: Ask the council to explain their reasoning for why the air conditioner is the owner’s responsibility.

Air conditioner maintenance can be tricky to navigate, as every strata scheme is different. However, there are a few steps that you can take to better understand your obligations in your strata scheme. First, check the strata plan. The strata plan will help identify your lot/part lot boundaries. These areas are generally always repaired and maintained by the owner of the associated lot.

The strata plan will also tell you if there are any registered bylaws for your strata scheme. Bylaws can add additional obligations or restrictions on owners, so it is important to have read and understood them. In particular, for this question, bylaws may provide “exclusive use” of the air conditioners associated with each lot or a similar bylaw that places the responsibility for repairs and maintenance of air conditioning units with the owner. Often such a bylaw will have either “exclusive use” or “air conditioners” in the heading.

If the air conditioner is not within the owner’s lot space, and there are no registered bylaws, a utility infrastructure contract could be in place. This is an agreement between the strata scheme and the owner to have utility infrastructure installed on common property for the benefit of the associated lot. Any change of ownership would require the new owner to accept this responsibility in writing by completing a deed of novation.

If the air conditioner is in common property, and none of the above situations apply, then it is likely that the strata company will be responsible for repairs and maintenance. However, there may still be circumstances where this is not the case, and your best bet is to seek clarification and any reasoning from the council of the strata company.

Ask the council to explain their reasoning for why the air conditioner is the owner’s responsibility. They should be able to provide a sufficient explanation of one of the above reasons.

ESM Strata
E: [email protected]
P: 08 9362 1166

This post appears in Strata News #733.

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