Did you know that strata owners corporations in Sydney and New South Wales have a legal obligation to both maintain and repair common property?
That’s why knowing your obligations, having an expert team like BIM Remedial behind you, and effective management of your strata property is so important.
That way you can avoid many of the pitfalls involved in not repairing or maintaining your building, such as:
- Legal enforcement
- Compensation claims
- Declining asset values
Explore how BIM Remedial can help with your strata remedial services here.
What are your legal obligations for strata repairs in NSW?
As the owners corporation, your strata obligations include both maintenance and repair of common property and vested assets.
Section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 NSW includes the following as legal obligations:
- You must properly maintain all common property
- You must renew or replace fixtures or fittings that form part of the common property
- Exceptions include when a resolution is made that the repair is not appropriate, compromises safety or appearance
Do the rules apply when there are building defects?
Unfortunately, the obligations still apply even when the blame is being pointed at builder defects. Similarly budget constraints are not considered an adequate reason for neglecting the obligation to repair and maintain common property.
What parts of the building need to be maintained/repaired?
The responsibility of the owners corporation is on common property and personal property vested in it. These can include:
- Façades
- Waterproofing elements
- Roofs
- Balconies
- Car parks
- Services
- Shared plant
What happens if the obligations are not met?
While the exact proceedings are likely to vary from case to case, in general, failure to maintain one’s obligations can result in the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) – which resolves disputes about strata-related issues – to compel repairs and possibly liability to pay lot owners compensation for damages.
Who has to pay for strata repairs and maintenance?
As a rule, common property repairs need to be paid for by the owners corporation.
Lot owners are responsible for paying to maintain items and assets that are inside their lot and therefore not considered to be common property.
Owners corporations tend to use administrative and capital works funds to help avoid disputes when it comes for payments.
Special Resolutions
We should note here that in specific cases, laws and special resolutions can (re)allocate some maintenance obligations and responsibility to specific lot owners. It is important that such arrangements are formalised correctly. For more information refer to legislation.NSW.
How has compliance and enforcement changed regarding strata maintenance?
Since October 2025, NSW Fair Trading has expanded its powers and scope to be more active in the enforcing of obligations for common property repair and maintenance.
Previously, the management was more reactive in the form of complaint handling rather than outgoing compliance monitoring.
This includes:
- Investigating schemes if there is reason to suspect maintenance is being neglected
- Issuing directions or compliance notices
- Escalating non-compliance when necessary
- Requiring owners corporations to document obligation upholding
- Compelling the completion of urgent works
- Ensuring compensation to lot owners
- Investigating safety incidents, insurance issues and even reputational damage to the scheme
How should strata schemes ensure compliance?
The most effective and efficient way to ensure compliance with your obligations is to develop a planned, documented program for maintenance.
Ad hoc, as-needed maintenance tends to snowball in neglect and non-compliance.
Your maintenance strategy should cover a 10-year time horizon and should include:
- Scheduled inspections by a certified contractor
- A capital works (sinking) fund plan for major repairs
- Prioritisation of safety-related items
- Meeting minutes with evidence of repair and maintenance related decisions
- Reports, scopes of work, warranties and/or certificates from contractors
- Photo evidence of identified issues and solutions
When to use a remedial contractor like BIM Remedial?
To avoid costly headaches, make sure to engage a specialist remedial contractor early.
The team here at BIM Remedial has the expertise and experience to help your strata scheme meet the legal obligations in the most cost effective, safe and less disruptive way possible.
Our contractors will conduct a thorough onsite investigation to diagnose root causes for repair and maintenance needs. Then we will design appropriate and tailored repair strategies for you to consider.
Once done, we ensure our works are documented for full compliance and legal requirements.
When should you give BIM Remedial a call?
- If you’ve noticed cracking, staining or movement of concrete slabs or beams
- If your roofs, balconies, podiums or basement walls are leaking
- If your balustrades, brickwork or façades are visibly deteriorating
- If you are concerned you have not met your strata scheme obligations
- If you need to put in place an ongoing maintenance schedule
The BIM Remedial team provides end-to-end strata building services for both residential and commercial assets. Plus, not only are we known for our compliance methods and quality workmanship, but we communicate with strata managers, committees and building residents throughout the process to minimise inconvenience and reduce stress.
