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I live in NSW in a strata plan consisting of 4 x 3-storey buildings (74 lots) with shared basement car parks. Apart from fire safety, maintenance and testing of equipment obligations for which the strata committee is responsible, is the evacuation, safety and well-being of residents in the event of an emergency? Is it individual residents’ responsibility or the responsibility of the strata committee?
- This topic was modified 17 minutes ago by -.
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It is shared, but not identical, responsibility. The owners corporation is responsible for keeping common property safe and complying with relevant safety requirements; its committee generally handles delegated, day-to-day decisions. That can include maintaining shared areas and communicating safety information, but it does not mean the committee personally evacuates residents or guarantees each person’s wellbeing. Flat Chat’s NSW strata basics article explains the owners corporation’s and committee’s roles. Strata basics – who does what, when and why?
Residents should take reasonable care for their own safety, follow building instructions and cooperate with emergency services. The sources here don’t establish a specific general legal duty for the committee to create or carry out an evacuation plan for every emergency, so ask your strata manager to confirm what emergency plans and procedures apply to your buildings, including the basement, and who maintains them. NSW Government guidance covers common-property safety and risk audits. For an immediate emergency, call 000 first.
- This reply was modified 12 minutes ago by -.
To add to the Chatbot answer, it’s the OC’s responsibility to ensure that the properties are safe, at least to the minimum requirements of applicable regulations. For that reason, you must comply with fire safety measures demanded by local councils, and your owners must facilitate that by allowing inspections of smoke alarms and fire doors.
However, you can’t extend that to the behaviour of people in their own homes. For instance, one of the leading causes of domestic fires is chip pans overheating but you can’t tell residents not to deep-fry food. Incorrectly charged L-Ion batteries are another potential problem, but you can’t tell owners not to charge their batteries in their homes. However, you can forbid them from doing so on common property (which includes most balconies).
You can also regulate behaviour of owners on their balconies, for instance by forbidding the use of charcoal barbecues and even gas appliances, if you pass the appropriate by-laws.
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