Know your plan of subdivision- Owners corporations who owns what?
Determining what is common property and what is private lot property is unfortunately not always a simple task. Surveyors who prepare plans of subdivision don’t follow the same rules for every building and the Subdivision (Registrar's Requirements) Regulations 2011 outlines information that must be on plans and how boundaries are to be defined.
Boundaries can be median where half the structure is owned by the Owners Corporation or a private lot owner and the other half is owned by another private lot owner or the Owners Corporation.
Boundaries can be internal face where the structure is wholly owned by the Owners Corporation or they can be external face where the whole structure on that boundary is owned by the private lot owner.
Parts of the building and land owned by Owners Corporations is called common property.
Confused yet? So are many Owners Corporations, lot owners and managers.
But why is knowing the boundaries important?
The question comes up when something needs repair or maintenance or when someone wants to undertake renovations. It is important to work out who owns what so the correct party pays for the repair or maintenance.
Section 46 of the Owners Corporations Act places an obligation on Owners Corporations to repair and maintain common property.
Section 48 of the Owners Corporations Act places an obligation on lot owners to repair and maintain private lot property.
What are some common examples where you need to know who owns what?
There is a lot of confusion in some plans on who owns things like:
- Facades
- Balconies and water proof membranes
- Windows
- Doors
- Roofs
- Services such as electricity, sewerage and drainage
- Fences
- Walls
So how can Tisher Liner FC Law as leading expert Owners Corporations lawyers in Victoria assist?
We can provide comprehensive written advice to Owners Corporations on the legal boundaries of your specific plan of subdivision.
We can provide clear colour coded versions of your plan of subdivision that set out what is common property, what is private lot property, what is half private lot property and half common property.
We can provide expert advice on who owns (and who is responsible for repairing) specific building elements.
We can provide advice on the application of the benefit principle where specific building elements which form part of common property only benefit some but not all of the lots in the Owners Corporation.
As expert Owners Corporation lawyers we can provide fixed fee advice to Owners Corporations so committees can be confident of engaging a lawyer for a specific advice brief for a specific fee.
In our view every Owners Corporation should obtain advice in writing so that they have an interpretation of their plan of subdivision in their records so when an issue arises the committee at the time can make an informed decision.
It is imperative that Owners Corporations obtain advice on specific building elements which major works are undertaken.
If you require advice on your plan of subdivision or any other Owners Corporation legal matter please contact Phillip Leaman, principal and head of Tisher Liner FC Law’s Owners Corporation team.
We have a team dedicated to just assisting Owners Corporations, committees, managers and lot owners.