Maintenance responsibility – EUA

Exclusive use areas – who is responsible for the maintenance of this area and everything on it?

You will first need to check the type of the EUA.  Is it EUA ito the plans or EUA ito the rules?

If it is EUA ito the plans then the Body Corporate will always be responsible for maintenance of the area and everything on it.

Section 3 of the STSM Act

  1. (1) A body corporate must perform the functions entrusted to it by or under this Act or the rules, and such functions include—

(l) to maintain all the common property and to keep it in a state of good and serviceable repair;

Remember an EUA is still common property – there were just use rights allocated to an owner for the area.

The Act states the following regarding the owner’s responsibility for the EUA

Section 13. (1) An owner must—

(c)repair and maintain his or her section in a state of good repair and, in respect of an exclusive use area, keep it in a clean and neat condition;

I have seen instances where the BC made rules to make the owners responsible for their own EUA – this is only possible if made ito the Management Rules.

This goes hand in hand with the EUA levy – if it is EUA ito the plans they must charge an EUA levy.  If it is EUA ito the rules and the rules are silent about maintenance responsibility then the BC will be responsible and must charge an EUA levy.  If the rules creating the EUA states that the owner is responsible for maintenance then the BC cannot charge an EUA levy as well.

Section 3. (1) A body corporate must perform the functions entrusted to it by or under this Act or the rules, and such functions include—

(c) to require the owners, whenever necessary, to make contributions to such funds: Provided that the body corporate must require the owners of sections entitled to the right to the exclusive use of a part or parts of the common property, whether or not such right is registered or conferred by rules, to make such additional contribution to the funds as is estimated necessary to defray the costs of rates and taxes, insurance and maintenance in respect of any such part or parts, including the provision of electricity and water, unless in terms of the rules the owners concerned are responsible for such costs;