Let me explain the insurance issue and who’s responsible for what in the same way that I’ve used over and over again with my Proprietors:
If you imagine that your Strata Unit is an empty shoe box, then the care, maintenance, and repair of that box and the insurance coverage for it is the responsibility of the Owners Corporation.
If you place internal dividers inside your shoe box so as to make compartments, and then place your loose personal items inside, then the care, maintenance, repair, and replacement of those items and the insurance coverage for them is your responsibility as the Owner.
If you then place some other items inside the compartments and glue them to the sides of the box, to the underside of the box’s lid, or to the base of the box, then the care, maintenance, repair, and routine replacement of those items is also your responsibility BUT if they’re damaged by an “event” like if something glued to the base of the box suddenly became unstuck, fell over, and broke then the Owner’s Corporation’s Insurance will cover repairs and/or the replacement of that item and any repairs to the base of the box.
If that’s clear, then consider:
- The shoe box as the perimeter walls, the base as the floor, and the lid as the ceiling of your Unit
- The internal dividers as the internal walls, and the compartments as the rooms within your Unit
- The loose personal items are your furnishings (contents)
- The glued items are things like the toilet pan, shower base and screen, sink/basin, wash tub, kitchen cupboards, cook tops, wall ovens, built-in wardrobes, and ceiling light fittings.
As with all simplified analogies such as this, there are exceptions – but they’re few.
I hope this works for maxd12, nell, and others.