The person responsible for utility infrastructure – whether it be an air-conditioning unit, electricity wires and cables, smoke alarms, plumbing or stormwater drainage – is one of the most common questions that arise in a community titles scheme.
In order to answer this question, it is first necessary to consider who owns the infrastructure - which is determined by whether the utility infrastructure constitutes
common property. If the infrastructure is common property, it is owned by the body corporate.
The
Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997 (Qld) (BCCMA) provides that utility infrastructure is common property, unless it is:
(a)
solely related to supplying utility services to a lot;
and
(b)
within the boundaries of the lot;
and
(c)
located other than within a boundary structure for the lot.
There are also other exceptions that exclude utility infrastructure from being common property... |