Plumbing rules in Sydney, a guide by DottoSix tags, from licence to label

Tag 04 · Apartments

A burst pipe in an apartment: who fixes what

In a NSW strata building, it depends on where the pipe is. In most cases the owners corporation repairs plumbing in boundary walls and under the floor, and each owner repairs plumbing in their internal walls and fixtures such as baths, toilets, sinks and showers. In an emergency an owner can call a plumber straight away, and may be eligible for a refund from the owners corporation if the burst was its responsibility.

General information, not legal advice. The official source is NSW Fair Trading’s page on strata repairs and maintenance; your own building’s strata plan and by-laws decide some answers.

04-A · The first hour

What NSW Fair Trading says to do in an emergency

These are the steps NSW Fair Trading sets out for an owner facing an emergency repair, in its order. Its own example is a pipe that bursts outside an apartment and leaks into the bathroom.

  1. 1

    Tell the strata manager

    Fair Trading says: “If possible, notify your strata manager of the problem and/or get advice from a strata committee member as soon as you can.”

  2. 2

    Look for the building’s emergency list

    Check your strata management company’s website for a list of emergency tradespeople and any protocols for emergency repairs. If there is no list, you can choose who to hire. Fair Trading’s reminder for any repair: make sure the person is licensed.

  3. 3

    Keep the evidence

    Take photos, and ask the plumber for written details of the problem and what was done to fix it.

  4. 4

    Ask for your money back

    Send the invoice to the strata manager. To be refunded, you will need to show the repair was caused by something the owners corporation is responsible for, and you might need to show it was necessary and urgent to call the tradesperson.

If water is running in the street or a public space, Sydney Water asks you to call it straight away on 13 20 90, 24 hours a day.

If you rent

Contact your agent or landlord first. A burst water service or serious leak is on NSW Fair Trading’s list of urgent repairs. If you cannot reach them, you can have a licensed tradesperson do the repair, preferably one named in your lease, and be paid back up to $1,000 within 14 days of giving them written details and receipts.

The landlord may not have to reimburse you if you caused the damage, did not try to contact them, did not give them reasonable time, or the repair was not done by a licensed tradesperson. Fair Trading also says not to stop paying rent if repairs are not done. Where the cause is common property, such as a leak from a neighbour’s apartment, your agent or landlord deals with the strata manager.

04-B · The source

Where the water came from decides who repairs it

Section through two apartments, one above the other, with four numbered places a leak can come from 1 2 3 4
  • 1Fixtures such as a bath, toilet, sink or shower, and the plumbing in your internal walls: usually the owner’s.
  • 2Plumbing in boundary walls and under the floor: usually the owners corporation’s.
  • 3Water damage coming from common property: usually the owners corporation’s.
  • 4Water damage coming from inside your own apartment: usually the owner’s.
Drawn for this guide, not to scale. Four lines selected from NSW Fair Trading’s list of who is responsible “in most cases”; different schemes classify different areas as common property.

Fair Trading gives two examples. A leak from a pipe under an owner’s own kitchen sink is the owner’s to fix, because owners are responsible for plumbing in internal walls and fixtures. Water running down a wall from the upstairs neighbour’s bathroom goes to the strata manager, because the owners corporation is responsible for plumbing in boundary walls and floors.

If you cannot find the answer, check your strata plan and by-laws; the owners corporation, the strata committee secretary, the strata manager or your real estate agent can give you a copy. A scheme with no definition of its own can adopt the NSW Government’s common property memorandum by special resolution.

04-C · Paying for it

How the owners corporation pays for an emergency

For work valued at $30,000 or more, an owners corporation must get “at least two independent quotes”, but that rule does not apply to emergency repairs, and Fair Trading names burst or blocked water or sewerage pipes among them.

Minor repairs to common property can be arranged by the strata committee, strata manager or building manager without a meeting, and most can be paid from the administrative fund. For emergency repairs to common property needed to deal with a serious and imminent threat to residents’ health or safety, the owners corporation can raise a levy with at least 14 days’ notice to pay, instead of the usual 30.

04-D · Insurance

The building is insured; your belongings may not be

Strata insurance is mandatory in NSW, and a scheme must have building insurance, though some two-lot schemes can be exempt. The contents of an owner’s apartment are not the responsibility of the owners corporation or the strata committee.

Fair Trading’s warning is specific: “Even where damage is caused by a common property issue, personal items such as furniture, electrical appliances, curtains and carpets may not be covered by the owners corporation.” It recommends that residents, owners and tenants alike, consider insuring their contents.

04-E · If it drags on

When the repair is delayed

An owners corporation may delay repairing damaged common property while it takes action against whoever caused the damage, but the delay must not harm the safety of the building or anyone’s access to or use of the common property or their own apartment.

If the owners corporation will not make a repair, Fair Trading’s path is a motion at the next general meeting, then its free strata mediation, then a formal complaint, which can lead it to ask for a rectification plan, issue a compliance notice or seek enforceable undertakings. A lot owner can also take legal action for loss caused by the owners corporation failing in its duty to maintain and repair common property, but only within six years of becoming aware of the loss.

NSW Fair Trading, strata questions

13 32 20

8:30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, by phone or at a Service NSW centre.

Sydney Water faults, 24 hours

13 20 90

For water running in a public space, or a fault you think is in its network.