Common property maintenance is a regular source of contention in bodies corporate. Residents may direct maintenance complaints to the caretaker even when responsibility sits elsewhere.
This article explains the body corporate’s role, how a caretaker’s contract affects maintenance, who approves the work and what to do when responsibilities are unclear.
Who is responsible for maintaining common property?
The body corporate is responsible for maintaining common property in good and structurally sound condition. This can include work needed to prevent damage, such as steps to prevent termite damage to common property. The body corporate may also be liable if poor common property maintenance causes damage to a lot.
The body corporate consists of the lot owners. A caretaker may be engaged to provide particular services, but that does not transfer every common property maintenance responsibility to them.
The Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 and the regulation module applying to your scheme set the framework for these responsibilities. The registered survey plan and community management statement can also help identify the boundaries between lots and common property.
What maintenance is the caretaker responsible for?
A caretaker may be engaged as a service contractor to provide specific services for the body corporate. Those services may benefit common property and could include maintaining gardens, lawns, pools, tennis courts or barbeque areas. These examples do not decide responsibility. The caretaker’s contract does.
A caretaker’s maintenance duties are defined by the terms of their engagement with the body corporate. They are not obliged to perform maintenance beyond those terms. The body corporate can engage caretaking service contractors to perform specific duties that help it meet its legal obligations.
A body corporate manager has a different role. A manager is not responsible for maintaining common property, but may organise work if the committee asks them to. Their duties are also contained in their written engagement.
What should you check in the caretaker’s contract?
Residents and committees should understand the caretaker’s responsibilities before raising a maintenance complaint. Start by obtaining the current contract and checking:
- the common property areas covered by the engagement
- the maintenance tasks the caretaker must perform
- any limits, exclusions or approval requirements
- who supplies materials, equipment or specialist contractors
- how faults, urgent work and additional services are reported
- the term of the engagement and any later amendments.
If a maintenance task is outside the caretaker’s contract, responsibility remains with the body corporate. The caretaker may still be able to help organise the work. The contract should not be treated as making the caretaker responsible for work they were not engaged to supply.
Caretaker contracts may be open to different interpretations. Unclear terms can create conflict between the caretaker and committee, particularly when residents expect the caretaker to handle all common property maintenance. Checking the contract before making a complaint can help separate a genuine performance issue from a task that belongs with the body corporate.
Who approves common property maintenance work?
The approval pathway depends on the regulation module, the committee’s spending limit and the scheme’s financial arrangements. Each scheme may follow a different process.
For schemes covered by the Standard, Accommodation or Small Schemes Modules, a committee’s spending limit may be set by ordinary resolution. If no amount has been set, the relevant limit is calculated by multiplying the number of lots by $200.
The committee must also be satisfied that enough money is available in the budget for the specific expense. If there is not enough money, the committee may call a general meeting to amend the budget or raise a special levy.
Some maintenance expenditure may need approval at a general meeting. This can apply when the proposal is over the committee’s spending limit, when there is no adequate budget provision, or when the work requires a decision that the committee cannot make. The body corporate cannot divide one project into smaller parts to avoid the applicable spending limit.
The approval process can also involve quote requirements. For example, spending above the major spending limit may require at least 2 quotes, subject to the applicable rules and any exceptional circumstances.
You can read more practical information in our body corporate maintenance factsheet.
What happens when the caretaker’s contract is unclear?
Poor communication and insufficient information can fuel misconceptions and conflict. If the caretaker and committee disagree, they should first discuss the wording, the work requested and how the contract has been applied.
The BCCM Office does not determine the contractual dispute itself. For a dispute about a claimed or anticipated contractual matter involving a caretaking service contractor, a party may apply for an order from a specialist adjudicator or QCAT, subject to the applicable process.
Legal advice may help the parties understand their options in a contractual matter. The Commissioner’s Office information about caretaker disputes may also help you identify the relevant dispute pathway.
How can a body corporate prevent maintenance disputes?
Clearly defined maintenance duties reduce assumptions and unreasonable expectations. A body corporate can help prevent disputes by:
- keeping the current caretaker contract and amendments with the body corporate records
- explaining the caretaker’s responsibilities to residents and committee members
- recording maintenance requests and the response provided
- checking whether work is within the contract before expecting it to be completed
- obtaining approval for work through the correct spending process
- discussing unclear terms early, before a small maintenance issue becomes a contractual dispute.
The Commissioner’s Office information about by-laws and caretakers may also be useful when maintenance concerns overlap with caretaker access or scheme rules.
The body corporate remains responsible for common property maintenance, while a caretaker is responsible only for the services covered by their contract. If you need help understanding the contract or the next step, contact our team at reception@stratacare.com.au.
