Bid farewell to confusion—presenting your quick reference guide. The following outlines who pays for repairs and maintenance of body corporation property. Detailing the people accountable for covering repair and maintenance expenses within a Body Corporate property.
When it comes to communal living, the body corporate often shoulders the responsibility for maintaining common property. While the individual lot owner usually takes on the upkeep of their specific lot. Despite this apparent simplicity, complexities can arise due to the division of property and corresponding responsibilities.
In the following article, we delve into the obligations of lot owners and bodies corporate when it comes to financing maintenance and repairs.
To gain a comprehensive understanding of these responsibilities it’s crucial to know your property’s subdivision survey plan. This plan outlines boundaries between common property and individual lots. In Queensland, two main types of survey plans prevail:
Building Format Plan (BFP)
Primarily for multi-story complexes, including vertical developments, and occasionally for townhouses. Although Queensland refrains from using the term ‘strata title,’ many building format plans essentially constitute a form of strata subdivision.
Standard Format Plan (SFP)
Frequently used in community title schemes, like townhouse complexes. The standard format plan allocates a building and garden to each lot. Lot boundaries are defined by measurements outlined in the plan and survey markings.
What are Bodies Corporate Responsible for:
A body corporate’s repairs and maintenance responsibilities can vary depending on property format plan.
A BFP Body Corporate is responsible for the maintenance and repairs of:
- Outside of building including windows, fittings, doors, balcony railings
- Facilities on common property eg. Pools, barbecue areas, gyms
- Foundations and roofs
- Pipes, drains, sewers, cables, plant and other equipment that services building
- Supporting framework of the building
- Common property roads, gardens and lawns
- Garage doors and fittings (gears, springs)
A SFP Body Corporate is responsible for repairs and maintenance of the following:
- Common property roads, gardens and lawns
- Facilities on common property eg. Pools, barbecue areas, gyms
- Pest control on common property
- Pipes, drains, sewers, cables, plant and other equipment that services building
What are Lot Owners Responsible for:
Each lot owner’s maintenance and repairs vary depending on type of format plan:
Owners in BFP are responsible for repairs and maintenance of:
- Exclusive use areas that the owner enjoys the privilege of (unless the exclusive use by-law states otherwise).
- Any installations or fittings that the owner put in place for their advantage.
- Pipes, cables, wiring, drains, and equipment like air conditioning, clothes dryers, and hot water systems that exclusively serve the unit or apartment.
- Windows and doors leading on to balcony
- Inside of the home, including fixtures and fittings
Owners in SFP are responsible for repairs and maintenance of:
- Exclusive use areas that the owner enjoys the privilege of (unless the exclusive use by-law states otherwise).
- Any installations or fittings that the owner put in place for their advantage.
- Exclusive use areas that the owner enjoys the privilege of (unless the exclusive use by-law states otherwise).
- Pipes, cables, wiring, drains, and equipment like air conditioning, clothes dryers, and hot water systems that exclusively serve the unit or apartment.
- Their home (lot) including laws and gardens within their outlined boundary
- Their buildings foundations and roof. Aswell as painting, exterior walls, windows, roof and doors
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