What is Common Property?
Common Property are those parts of the building owned by the Owners Corporation rather than by an individual owner. That means every lot-owner effectively owns a “share” so we can say they’re “owned in common” and that’s why they’re called Common Property. Sounds straightforward? Read on…
What do I own?
On the surface, this is a straightforward question and the answer seems pretty obvious. But dig a little deeper and it gets surprisingly complex with several “grey areas”. As a general rule-of-thumb, you can consider that you own everything inside the boundary of your lot. That means that you own the paint but the Owner’s Corporation owns the structural material of the walls because they’re considered to be “Common Property”. You own the carpet or other floor-covering, but the concrete substrate is Common Property. You own the light-fittings and ceiling paint, but the ceiling itself is Common Property. If you’ve got a floating office ceiling comprising lightweight tiles suspended in a frame, that’s all yours – the real ceiling is above it. You own any electrical wiring and sockets installed in your suite including the internal trip-switch fuse-panel (even though it’s installed set back into the wall.
What about the Air Conditioners?
In our building there are specific rules (by laws) dealing with air conditioners. The rules make it clear that each lot-owner is completely responsible for their own air conditioner even though the outside compressor unit and most of the associated pipe-work & cabling connecting it to the inside fan unit is on Common Property. Because you own it, you’re responsible for ensuring it’s installed and maintained properly. Sounds fair doesn’t it? In practice this can cause problems if your air conditioner (or the roof-penetration through which it’s cables and pipes are fed) starts leaking. In that event, you’d be responsible for the costs associated with locating the problem, fixing it and remediating any other resultant damage.
So… What do I Own & What is Common Property?
Here’s a great little pictorial guide to help you. It was developed by Bannermans Lawyers some years ago and relates to a residential strata rather than commercial, but the principals are very similar so it’s still a handy visual guide.