Who is responsible for strata property water damage?

Strata committee or lot owner – here’s how to find out who must fix strata property water damage

Strata committees are often the first point of contact for lot owners when there is a maintenance issue or urgent repair request. In the event of strata property water damage, the best way forward may be to address the problem and take swift action to repair the damage. Your strata manager may be able to help you come up with a solution that is fair, and tailored to suit your specific set of circumstances. Such situations may be distressing, and your strata manager should be able to assist you and your neighbours to minimise stress for everyone involved.

However, finding the cause of strata property water damage can be complicated. Strata properties have a complex network of water pipes, electrical wiring, air conditioning and ventilation systems hidden from sight in cavity walls, roof spaces or underfloor. While identifying the source of the issue can be difficult, it is particularly challenging if the damage has not been detected for some time or has extended beyond the initial allocation.

Understanding the boundaries between common property and individual lots is important to understanding who is responsible for strata property water damage.This three-step approach may help you understand who is responsible for strata property water damage, in order to fix the problem swiftly:

Step 1: Define where the problem originated
Step 2: Identify the source of the problem
Step 3: Know your legal rights for managing repairs to utility services

Step 1: Define where the problem originated

Common property includes spaces outside the individual lots themselves — roadways, lobby and foyer areas, lifts, staircases, car parks, gardens, fitness centres, swimming pools and so on. It also includes joining walls between lots and any other area not listed as part of an individual lot on the building plan. If a strata property’s water damage originates here, the owners corporation may be responsible for the issue.

A lot, on the other hand, is a privately-owned space such as an apartment or townhouse. According to the NSW Fair Trading, “the basic rule is that everything inside the airspace of the unit, including all internal walls, fixtures, carpet and paint on the walls is usually the lot and therefore the responsibility of the lot owner.” If the water damage originates within a lot, the lot owners is generally responsible for repairs.

Step 2: Identify the source of the problem

Once you have determined who is responsible for the strata property water damage, then it’s critical to identify the source of the water damage. In most instances, you will need to engage a plumber, engineering or qualified leak detection specialist to find the exact source and cause of the water leak.

Lot owners can request strata committees to pay for this investigatory work. In some instances, lot owners may choose to pay out of their pocket first and seek reimbursement later, rather than wait for a committee to convene a meeting and respond to the request.

It pays to remember that reimbursement of out-of-pocket specialist fees may only apply if the water damage was caused by common property infrastructure failure or damage.

PICA Group tip

All owners corporations should have a comprehensive capital works plan or maintenance plan to help your strata committee stay on top of the current condition of the property and all commonly owned items within it, when the regular servicing checks are due and when anything needs immediate repair.

The capital works plan should also specify how much budget your committee needs to reserve for ongoing maintenance and repairs.

Step 3: Know your legal rights for managing repairs to utility services

According to state government legislation and related regulations, utility infrastructure (such as cables, wires, pipes, sewers, drains, ducts, plant and equipment that supply utility services to common property) is considered common property when it comes to strata water damage. Therefore it is the strata committee or owners corporation’s responsibility to maintain and repair.

If the utility infrastructure supplies a single lot with a service and is contained within the boundary of the lot (without sharing a common boundary with another area of the building), the utility structure becomes the lot owner’s responsibility to repair.Need help figuring out who is responsible for repairs relating to water damage? Here’s a simple explainer:

Water defect	Who is generally responsible for repair
A malfunctioning hot water system situated on the ground floor of a strata building but piped and wired directly into a lot on the third floor	Lot owner
A leaking cold-water pipe within a lot and supplies a utility service only to that individual lot	Lot owner
Repairs to burst pipes in a boundary wall	Owners corporation
Pipe damage occurring within internal walls	Lot owner
Pipe damage from a pipe that services multiple units	Owners corporation
Mould caused by a burst or leaking pipe in a common area that seeps through a joint wall and causes mould to surface in one or more adjoining lots	Owners corporation

If you would like a more in-depth understanding of who is responsible for strata property water damage, these are the specific pieces of legislation that govern such matters: