By definition, almost everything in a strata building is common property (except the air space). The owners corporation almost always owns the roof, the structure of the building, all common areas and dividing walls as well as services. It goes without saying that the owners corporation must repair and maintain all of it. See the list here for a fairly complete list of what is common property.

This sounds simple, and in theory it should be simple, however Strata Renovations can list many instances where what should have been simple repairs have caused extraordinary problems.

This page provides a very high level overview of the repair process.

Duty to repair?

Generally speaking, if a part of the building or property is common property then the owners corporation must repair and maintain it. Indeed the owners corporation has a "duty" to repair and maintain which is legally a high test. Alex Ilkin states that:

A key duty of an owners corporation is the maintenance and repair of the common property.

Strata schemes and community schemes management and the law, Alex Ilkin, 1998

Indeed there are circumstances where the owners corporation must repair and maintain without delay.

What does this mean in practice?

Internal repairs

Inside a strata strata building, the owners corporation is clearly responsible for the following types of repairs, these are so obvious that it almost goes without saying:

• any works required for reasons of safety, OH&S or structural integrity etc;
• cracks in walls;
• any works that may be required by a local council or any other authority;
• repair of carpet, tiles, staircase treads and risers;
• removal of asbestos (and other toxic or hazardous substances);
• removal of magnesite (and other materials that are detrimental to the structure of the building);
• fire doors, door closers, fire extinguishers, exit lights and other fire precautions;
• door locks to common property corridors;
• repairs to prevent water penetrating a lot;
• internal painting of common areas;
• other maintenance necessary to preserve the building; and
• repairs to prevent the growth of mould and fungus etc.

However, the duty of the owners corporation to repair also includes such things as:

• structural repairs (even if the building was not built correctly);
• constructing new retaining walls (even if not part of the orginal construction);
• fire doors and other fire related works (even if not part of the orginal construction);
• installing damp gutters, downpipes, proof courses etc (even if not part of the original construction); and
• installing ventilation (even if not part of the original construction).

Guidance is provided elsewhere on the interpretation of some of these repair issues.

External repairs

Externally, the following types of repair works are usually also the responsibility of the owners corporation:

• repairing driveways, footpaths and gutters;
• roof and gutter repairs including all water-proofing, replacing cracked tiles etc;
• fence repairs (boundary fences are always common property);
• hedge, tree and garden maintenance (on common property);
• cleaning, raking leaves, clearing drains (on common property);
• external painting;
• repairing and replacing windows;
• water flooding the garden or outdoor area of a lot (especially from common property);
• other maintenance necessary to preserve the building;
• repairs to prevent the growth of mould and fungus etc.;
• external doors; and
• garden areas; planter pots etc.

What does repair and maintenance really mean?

Repair and maintain is a term that is often argued over. Ultimately what constitutes "repair and maintenance" is often a decision for the courts. But considerable guidance has been provided which needs to be considered if the scope of "repairs" are contentious:

In the strata renovation world, this sounds and should also be easy. But unfortunately many buildings often decide that they do not want to repair something properly. The reasons vary, it will cost too much to repair properly, they do not have enough money to repair etc and this is where it can get difficult. Many owners corporations will attempt to save money by the use of temporary "fixes" or other stop-gap measures. This is often a satisfactory result for everyone except the person who owns the apartment. Indeed it was events such as these that were the inspiration for this website.

When owners are faced with a problems such as an owners corporation that does not want to repair, or does not want to do the job properly, there is no substitute for expert professional help and assistance. The section on disputes outlines the procedures that should be followed.