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I’ve just looked at our strata plan and to my surprise the balconies are not marked as common property.
Given that, what are the implications if say concrete cancer is found in the building? And does it mean that someone can attach an awning to the wall to the outside of the building within the envelope of the balcony?
We currently have some mis-matched balustrading and we have been planning for some time to replace some of the balustrades so they match. I guess this means each owner pays for their own? And should we remove that project from the Capital Works Plan?
I suddenly feel like everything I thought I knew about strata has been turned on its head.
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What makes you think that it is not common property?
I looked at the strata plan. Common property is marked and the balconies are not marked as common property. The foyers, lift, stairs, driveway, carpark etc are marked as common property, but not the balconies.
In NSW Balcony “ownership” depends on when the building was registered as a Strata Title” property. If it was pre 1 July 1974, the balcony is included in the lot, the lot boundary is the balustrade/ outer side of the balcony edge and lot owner is wholly responsible for maintaining it. The balustrade is 50/50 owner & Strata. After this date, the balconies are common property BUT the attached lot has exclusive of the balcony.
Balconies are usually the property of the lot owner (on the strata plan there is a little “s” symbol that links the balcony with the rest of the lot). But the lot is basically the volume inside the lot boundaries. So the floor slab, the roof slab and the boundary walls are common property. The boundary wall between the balcony and the rest of the lot is also common property (except with older strata plans), because it is shown as a thick line on the strata plan. The boundary walls of the balcony are common property, which includes the balustrade.
Also, strata law protects the “look” of the building from outside, so an awning may not be allowed because of that principle. An owner will affix an awning to the common property exterior walls, so they will need to owners corporations approval to install the awning, even if the OC allows awnings to be added to the building, because they do not detract from the building’s appearance.
They are not common property for pre 1974 buildings in NSW