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Topic
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Currently the lighting in the car parks, common paths and pool area are on from 5pm-2am. It was proposed at a committee meeting that we stop the lighting at 11pm to save energy, but we were unsure about the requirements.
Are there any rules stating the minimum times that common property needs to be lit up at night?
I'm in Brisbane, Qld.
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Replies
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Dear Andrew
Your questions reminds me of Laresu’s case in the NSW Court of Appeal: https://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWCA/2010/180.html.
In this case, a visitor to a small retail and commercial building in Sydney fell on some unlit stairs late in the evening after an automatic light had switched off and suffered personal injuries. The accident occurred at 9.40 pm and the owner of the property had instructed the managing agent some years earlier to set the automatic light switch to operate only until 6.30 pm.
The appeal judges found that the owner of the premises owed a duty of care to the visitor that had been breached and the danger could have easily have been overcome by leaving the light on 24 hour a day, or at least until midnight or by installing an override switch.
The judges also found that the owner’s duty of care had been delegated to the managing agent who accepted a broad responsibility under the management appointment.
The real contest in the case was whether the managing agent was relieved of responsibility for this accident due to the owners specific instructions to run the automatic lights only until 6.30 pm. In the end the Court of Appeal held both parties to blame. The blame was apportioned 40 % to the owner and 60 % to the managing agent. The Managing Agent took a greater share of the blame because despite the owners instructions, it should have recommended the light be kept on much later in the evening or 24 hours a day.
The lesson for strata owners is not to get involved in making decisions that should be left to the experts. The small amount of money saved on some low wattage lights for a few hours was inconsequential compared to the damages suffered. For managing agents, the lesson is that they have a duty to make recommendations about safety against the wishes of their owners.
Yours faithfully
Simone Balsara
Lawyer
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TEYS Lawyers
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