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Topic
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Good morning,
My strata scheme has a shared laundry with each unit having its own power point for the washer/dryer.
Each power point is wired to relevant units electricity meter.
Residents install padlocks on their own power points so no other resident can use/steal power from others. I think this is a very common set up in older buildings.
Question is, who is responsible if one of the power points becomes faulty?
On one hand, the power point is located on common property, but on the other, each unit has exclusive use of the power point & the power supply is not common.
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What state do you live in?
In QLD the BCCMA states that all three of the following elements must be satisfied for an Owner to be liable for the repair, therefore if only two elements are satisfied then the OC is responsible for the repair:
Utility infrastructure that:
- supplies a utility service to only one lot; and
- is within the boundaries of the lot; and
- is not within a boundary structure for the lot
In NSW it would appear from SSDA 2015 that the power point could be an Owner responsibility if it only benefits one lot and satisfies (b)(i -ii) and could be classified as being part of the wires and cables.
common infrastructure means:
(a) the cubic space occupied by a vertical structural member of a building, other than a wall, or
(b) the pipes, wires, cables or ducts that are not for the exclusive benefit of one lot and are:
(i) in a building in relation to which a plan for registration as a strata plan
(ii) otherwise—in a building or in a part of a parcel that is not a building, or
(c) the cubic space enclosed by a structure enclosing pipes, wires, cables or ducts referred to in paragraph (b).was lodged with the Registrar-General before 1 March 1986, orIn the ACT the power point would probably be a responsibility of the individual unit but our OC made sure by adopting a rule to state that any equipment on common property that only benefitted one unit was the responsibility of that unit to repair and maintain, whether it had been approved or not. (paraphrasing)