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My neighbour has a problem with the executive committee. On the advice of the strata manager, it has ruled that the heavy duty exhaust fan which ventilates three areas – a bathroom, laundry and toilet by drawing ducted air and discharges it outside the building is private, not common property and therefore the owner’s responsibility to service. The fan and motor are in a sealed unit mounted in-line in the 12″ ducting. The unit is suspended from the underside of the floor slab of the unit above, at the moment only visible through a cut-out in the top of a kitchen cupboard. It is therefore behind and slightly above the long boxing that runs over the kitchen cupboards and the separate cooktop exhaust fan. One of the problems is its inaccessibility, due to the developer not allowing an access port in the boxing. However, as it is in the ceiling space, connected to ducting which runs in the ceiling space, we cannot understand how it can be defined as the owner’s property and responsibility. Has there been a ruling on this sort of problem, are there precedents that can be searched? What reasons could be put forward that justify the committee’s ruling?
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Normally, if the ventilation system including the fan serves only one Lot then it’s the Proprietor’s responsibility, and conversely, systems where a fan is connected to ducting serving more than one Lot is the Owners Corporation’s responsibility.
Your neighbour’s situation is a little different as the fan is in the ceiling space and it provides ventilation to three areas of their Lot, but I’d still say that the above demarcation would apply.
I’m aware of another authoritative interpretation by the NSW Office of Fair Trading (OFT), who administers the Strata Schemes Management Act (SSMA) to the effect that a false ceiling was not a boundary of the Common Property, but rather the floor slab above it is that boundary and also the boundary of the cubic air space of the lot. That may be the interpretation that your Strata Manager’s relying upon.
One would expect common and consistent rulings as opposed to interpretations, but my personal experience gives me more confidence in the L&PI for matters to do with the Strata Plan (i.e. the physical drawing), the OFT is better with regard to matters involving the responsibility maintenance and repairs, and with the application of By-Laws.
I can’t wait for the Review of the SSMA to produce some Strata Legislation that’s less open to interpretations and more conducive to making informed decisions.
Good luck with convincing your Strata Manager though.
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