Who pays for a repair in strata: common property vs your lot
By The stratai team
A leak appears in a ceiling. Within a day, the question that matters most is not how to fix it but who pays for it. In strata, the answer almost always comes down to a single distinction: is the problem common property, which the building pays to maintain, or lot property, which the owner pays for? Getting that line right is what keeps a repair from turning into a dispute.
The dividing line
Your lot is the part you own outright, generally the interior of your apartment from a defined boundary inward. Common property is everything shared: the building’s structure, the external walls and roof, the foundations, and the services that run between lots. The owners corporation is responsible for maintaining common property, and individual owners are responsible for their own lot.
The exact boundary is set by the registered strata or community plan, and it can differ from building to building, so the plan is always the place to check first.
Some common examples
As a rough guide, and always subject to your own plan:
- A roof or external wall leak is usually common property
- Repainting the inside of your apartment is usually the owner’s
- A pipe or cable serving several lots is usually common property
- Your own appliances and fixtures are the owner’s
- Balcony and bathroom waterproofing is often common property
Why it gets murky
The grey areas come from a few places. Plans draw the boundary differently. Fixtures that an owner installed during a renovation may be their responsibility even when the original equivalent was the building’s. And where damage was caused by negligence, the question of who pays can shift to whoever caused it. This is why two buildings can answer the same question differently.
How to resolve it without a fight
The fastest way to settle who pays is to work from the record rather than from memory. Check the plan for the boundary, check the by-laws for anything specific, document the problem with photos and dates, and put the decision in writing. A clear, shared record stops a reasonable disagreement from escalating into a formal dispute.
Where stratai fits
stratai gives every repair one timeline, with the photos, the approvals, and a record of who agreed to pay all in one place. When the question of responsibility comes up, the answer is documented rather than argued.
Book a demo and we will show you how a repair runs from first report to final invoice.