Maintenance responsibilities in a standard format plan can differ from what owners expect in an apartment building. The registered survey plan, common property boundaries and regulation module determine whether the owner or body corporate must maintain an area.
This guide explains how standard format plan boundaries affect maintenance, which parts are usually the owner’s responsibility, what the body corporate must maintain and how shared maintenance services can be arranged.
Who is responsible for maintenance in a standard format plan?
The body corporate and lot owners both have maintenance responsibilities. Start by identifying the scheme’s registered survey plan and the regulation module recorded in its community management statement.
A standard format plan does not produce the same maintenance outcome for every scheme. Before responsibility is decided, check the location of the lot boundaries, common property and any relevant arrangements in the community management statement.
The body corporate may be responsible for common property, while the lot owner may be responsible for buildings and other items within the lot. Utility infrastructure and other arrangements applying to the scheme may create exceptions.
How do standard format plan boundaries affect maintenance?
The Land Title Act 1994 provides that a standard format plan of survey defines land using a horizontal plane and references to marks on the ground. Those marks may include posts or other survey marks.
In practical terms, the survey plan shows where the lot and common property boundaries are located. A plan of subdivision must distinctly show the proposed lots and common property, and a cadastral surveyor must certify the plan as accurate.
You can obtain a copy of the registered survey plan and community management statement from Titles Queensland. The community management statement identifies the regulation module applying to the scheme.
If the plan is difficult to interpret, a qualified surveyor may need to measure the boundaries or explain how the plan applies to a particular building. It is also useful to compare the plan with the physical location of the item in dispute.
Identify common property and lot boundaries from the registered survey plan before allocating maintenance responsibility. Consider the plan and regulation module together, rather than relying only on the appearance or use of an area.
What does the lot owner maintain in a standard format plan?
In a standard format plan, the owner must maintain their lot in good condition. The owner must also maintain utility infrastructure within the lot boundaries where it is not common property.
This generally means the owner is responsible for structural and non-structural parts of a building located within the lot boundaries. Depending on the registered plan, examples may include:
- foundations within the lot boundaries
- roofing structures within the lot boundaries
- exterior wall surfaces
- painting, rendering and cladding
- windows, doors and associated fittings
- balconies located within the lot boundaries
- other fixtures and building elements forming part of the lot.
These examples do not apply automatically to every standard format plan. A foundation, roof, wall, window or balcony may be common property, partly within a boundary or affected by another arrangement. Check the survey plan and community management statement before approving work or allocating costs.
A lot owner’s maintenance obligation does not apply to a part of the lot that the body corporate is required to maintain under the applicable regulation module.
For example, an exterior wall within an owner’s lot boundaries may be the owner’s responsibility. This can include maintaining its external surface through painting, rendering or cladding. If the boundary is located differently on the registered plan, responsibility may change.
The same approach applies to balconies. A balcony within a lot boundary may involve owner maintenance, while a balcony that is common property must be considered under the body corporate’s maintenance obligations.
Most building maintenance in a standard format plan will often be the individual owner’s responsibility. The registered plan, common property, utility infrastructure and applicable regulation module may affect that outcome.
For more practical information, see our body corporate maintenance factsheet.
What does the body corporate maintain?
The Body Corporate and Community Management (Standard Module) Regulation 2020 requires the body corporate to maintain common property in good condition. Where common property is structural, it must also be maintained in a structurally sound condition.
The Queensland Government’s maintenance guidance also explains that a lot owner must maintain their lot in good condition, while the body corporate must maintain common property in good and structurally sound condition. Maintenance can include work needed to prevent damage, such as steps to prevent termite damage.
Common property may include shared areas and facilities such as:
- gyms
- pool changing areas
- saunas
- storage sheds
- other areas shown as common property on the registered survey plan.
These are examples only. The plan and community management statement determine whether a particular area is common property, a lot or subject to an exclusive-use arrangement.
The body corporate’s administrative and sinking fund budgets are for body corporate expenditure, including maintaining common property and body corporate assets. The sinking fund is intended for capital or non-recurrent spending and the replacement of major capital items.
The inclusion of an item of expenditure in a body corporate budget is not, of itself, authority for the expenditure.
If an owner does not complete required maintenance, the body corporate may carry out the work and recover the reasonable cost from the owner as a debt.
The body corporate should still communicate with the owner first. It should identify the maintenance obligation, give the owner a reasonable opportunity to respond and keep records supporting the proposed work and cost.
Who maintains shared utilities, roofs, walls and balconies?
Utility infrastructure can be located within a lot without being the owner’s responsibility. The owner must maintain utility infrastructure within the lot boundaries that is not common property, including replacing it if it is in need of replacement.
This can include pipes, drains, wiring or cables. Check the exact classification against the registered plan, community management statement and any services location information. You can read more about utility infrastructure maintenance.
Assess a shared roof by checking the registered plan to identify the relevant lot and common property boundaries before allocating responsibility for repair or replacement.
Foundations, windows, doors and associated fittings may be maintained by the owner where they form part of the lot. The same may apply to a balcony within the lot boundary, while a common-property balcony must be considered separately.
For more information about balcony issues, see apartment balconies: issues and responsibilities for strata residents.
Insurance does not automatically change maintenance responsibility. In a standard format plan scheme with buildings that have common walls, the body corporate must insure each building involved for full replacement value. That insurance obligation is separate from deciding who must maintain a particular part of a lot or common property.
Can the body corporate coordinate maintenance for owners?
The body corporate may supply or arrange maintenance services for the benefit of owners and occupiers. Examples include cleaning, repairing, painting, pest prevention, pest extermination and mowing.
This can help where several owners need similar work, such as painting buildings or replacing sections of a shared roof. The arrangement should be based on agreement with the owners for whom the services are supplied.
Agree the arrangement with the participating owners before work begins. Each participating owner should understand:
- the work to be completed
- the estimated cost and how it will be divided
- the payment arrangements
- the scope of the body corporate’s involvement
- who will deal with defects, access and variations.
The body corporate can charge for the service by agreement, but only to the extent needed to reimburse the body corporate for supplying it. The total cost should, as far as practicable, be recovered from the users of the service.
Costs for an agreed owner service remain the responsibility of the participating owners. They should not be included in the body corporate’s general budgets or levies as though the work were maintenance of common property.
When a maintenance dispute arises, start with the registered survey plan and community management statement, then identify the applicable regulation module. Clear records and qualified advice can help the committee and owners resolve responsibility before work is arranged.
In a standard format plan, maintenance responsibility usually follows the registered boundaries, with owners maintaining their lots and the body corporate maintaining common property, subject to shared utilities and other exceptions. If you need help working through your scheme’s documents, contact our team at reception@stratacare.com.au.
