The definitive ‘who owns what’

One of the recurring issues on Flat Chat is who is responsible for what in a strata building – brought to a boil recently when I mentioned that downlights in ceilings were, technically, a common property issue.

I also mentioned a document that was being prepared that would sort this kind of thing out once and for all.

Just think: one document that says this bit of your home is your responsibility and that bit is the Owners Corporation’s – end of story.

Who’s responsible for the water supply stopcock inside a unit? The Owners Corp.  Who is responsible for an Insinkerator waste disposal unit? That would be the individual owner.

Who’s responsible for a fence dividing two strata lots? Under these rules, it’s the owners, 50-50.  But if the fence divides your lot from common property, then it’s you and the OC.

The important thing is that there is now a clear set of guidelines that cover just about any possible strata question.

But – and this is a big but – they have no effect unless you adopt them, with any changes you need, under a by-law.

Now this Memorandum, as it calls itself, has been wrangled by the Strata Industry Working Group which includes the Lands and Property Information department, Fair Trading, strata managers and lawyers, the Owners Corporation Network and others at the pointy end of strata disputes.

Now you could go HERE  (the LPI website – lpi.nsw.gov.au) where you will find the memorandum. Or go here in the forum, where there’s already a bit of a discussion underway and another link to the document.

I couldn’t possibly advise you to cut and paste the guts of it into a proposed by-law for your next AGM. But that’s what I would do.

Absorb it, adapt it and adopt it – answer all those tricky questions and put this column out of business.

UPDATE:  I have heard a whisper that some Government legal types are poring over the document because there may be a couple of quirks that  don’t tie in with some aspect of other laws. If this document suddenly disappears off the LPI website, that’ll be the reason. However, I’m assured that these wrinkles will be ironed out pretty quickly so it’s still worth looking at the document and thinking about adopting it at your next AGM. Oh, and let me know if the document suddenly does disappear.