› Flat Chat Strata Forum › Common Property › Illegal balustrade height + foothold › Current Page
Newlsie – It should not be the responsibility of the Lot owner to ensure that a common property balustrade is safe and meets various Codes including Work Place Safety by placing capping on the common property balustrade. It is the responsibility of the Strata scheme to ensure that the common property balustrades meet these standards.
There is no guarantee that an owner installed balcony extension on top of a common property balustrade has been installed correctly. To remove all doubt the strata scheme should implement these safety measures to ensure conformity in standards.
The Strata scheme will be responsible if any accidents occur as a result of their negligence.
Just as window locks are now essential items within a strata scheme so should balustrades that are the correct height to prevent accident and injury.
The height of railings has been lifted for safety reasons. Regardless of whether the building complies with older building codes the duty of care of a strata scheme to residents and visitors is to ensure that they are safe on the property. If it has been determined that people are only safe with balustrades at a height of 100 cm is it unreasonable for a strata scheme to ignore that standard.
The Strata Scheme needs to step up to the plate and face their responsibilities. Don’t wait for a catastrophe to occur in your unit complex before implementing change. Cost cutting should not override common sense.