Who’s Responsible for Blockages in Strata Properties?
If you live in, own or manage a strata property, you’ll eventually have to deal with plumbing just like in any other residence. However, figuring out who’s responsible for dealing with a clogged pipe in a strata property can be a bit complicated. Figuring out whose job it is to take responsibility for repairs may depend on a variety of factors.
Generally, anything inside a unit is the responsibility of the person who own the unit. Anything outside the unit, including common areas, is the domain of the strata property owner. However, things can get much more complicated when plumbing issues in one unit start to affect other areas.
Drain blockages are one of the most common plumbing issues across all kinds of properties. In order to decide who is responsible, you’ll first need to figure out where your blockage is occurring. Generally, blockages in sink and bathtub drains in Brighton are the unit owner’s problem as the blockage is occurring inside their property.
An exception to this rule is shower drains and other floor drains. Generally, these are a problem for body corporate to deal with. This is because these pipes run underneath the ground and often serve multiple unit buildings at one. In situations like this, it’s hard to decipher whether a unit owner is the reason for the blockage. Regardless, when a blockage starts to affect multiple properties, it’s usually the strata property owner’s job to deal with it. The same thing applies for blocked sewer pipes in Brighton because they serve the entire building, not just one individual unit.
