Who Pays for That? Understanding Strata Maintenance Responsibility
Confused about who pays for repairs in your strata scheme?
One of the most common questions in strata is: Who pays for repairs and maintenance – the owner or the strata company (all owners in the scheme)?
The answer depends on your strata plan, which identifies the boundaries between individual lots and common property, as well as any applicable by-laws that may change maintenance responsibilities.
Understanding these responsibilities can help avoid unnecessary costs, confusion and disputes.
Start with Your Strata Plan
This identifies the boundaries of your lot and the common property, helping determine who is generally responsible for repairs and maintenance.
As a general guide:
Lot owner: Responsible for maintaining and repairing items forming part of their individual lot.
Strata company: Generally responsible for maintaining, repairing and renewing common property.
By-laws: Always check the registered by-laws, as these may transfer or allocate certain maintenance responsibilities to individual owners, including responsibility for exclusive-use common property.
🚨Remember: Don't make assumptions! Responsibility can vary between schemes depending on the strata plan, building boundaries and registered by-laws. When in doubt, check with your strata manager before arranging repairs or accepting responsibility for the cost.