Shared Plumbing - Who's Responsible For What

Supply, drainage and who pays for what

Plumbing covers two separate systems: the water supply (bringing fresh water in) and the drainage (taking wastewater out). In a strata or community titled group, the key question is where the corporation's responsibility ends and the individual owner's begins.

The legislation

Every Australian jurisdiction reaches the same answer by the same route: pipework serving more than one lot is common property and the corporation maintains it, while pipework serving a single lot exclusively belongs to that owner. Only the wording and the section number change.

• NSW. Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, s 106(1) for the duty. A common property memorandum under s 107 can move responsibility for specified items onto an owner, so check whether your scheme has adopted one.

• VIC. Owners Corporations Act 2006, s 46 for common property and s 47 for services. Lot owners must not repair or alter common property themselves (s 47A).

• QLD. Body Corporate and Community Management Act 1997, s 152, with the operative duty in your regulation module: Standard Module s 180, Accommodation Module s 170, Commercial Module s 127, Small Schemes Module s 99. The modules also define utility infrastructure.

• WA. Strata Titles Act 1985, s 91(1)(c), which covers deterioration from fair wear and tear, inherent defect or any other cause.

• SA. Strata Titles Act 1988, s 5(6): common property includes any pipe, cable, wire, duct or drain not for the exclusive use of a single unit. Community Titles Act 1996, s 28(1): common property includes service infrastructure except the parts serving a single lot.

• TAS. Strata Titles Act 1998, Schedule 1 clause 8, which names service infrastructure expressly.

• ACT. Unit Titles (Management) Act 2011, s 24(1).

• NT. Unit Titles Act 1975, s 34(b).

How to work out who's responsible

Water supply

The corporation is responsible for water supply pipes up to the point where they only serve one unit. A practical test: if you shut off the water at a given point and only one unit is affected, the pipe from that point onward belongs to the owner.

Drainage

The same principle applies to sewer and wastewater pipes. The corporation maintains shared drainage infrastructure but once a pipe only serves a single unit, it's that owner's responsibility.

There's a common exception worth noting: if a unit has a sewer vent pipe that serves the shared sewer main, the branch connected to that vent may be classified as common property even though it physically serves only one unit. The test is whether the pipe serves the common infrastructure, not just the individual unit.

Typical owner responsibilities

The following are usually the owner's to maintain:

• Hot water service (unless shared between units)

• Kitchen taps and drains

• Toilet cistern and plumbing

• Shower and bathroom plumbing

Water meters

Most strata and community groups share a single water meter. The corporation pays the water bill and recoups costs through levies.

Some groups have individual meters per unit or lot. In that case, the meter and all connected pipework is the owner's responsibility. Any issues with a utility-owned meter should be reported directly to your water authority: SA Water, Sydney Water, Hunter Water, Yarra Valley or Greater Western Water, Urban Utilities, Water Corporation, TasWater, Icon Water or Power and Water, depending on where you are.

Where groups have installed private sub-meters to enable per-unit billing, those meters should be accuracy-checked every year or two to keep billing fair.

Insurance and plumbing issues

Damage caused by a burst or leaking pipe, whether supply or drainage, may be covered by the corporation's insurance policy. Check your policy for coverage of resultant damage and pipe location/exploration costs. If you're not sure, call the insurer and ask before engaging a plumber for major works.

Best practice

Whenever a plumber attends the property, ask them to provide a written report that covers:

• Where the problem was located

• Whether the affected plumbing serves a single unit or the common infrastructure

• If it's unit-specific, which unit it serves

This documentation makes it straightforward to determine who pays and avoids arguments later.

If you have any more questions about plumbing and water supply, contact us for more information, we'd be very happy to help.

Call us on 1300 79 2255 or email hello@acaciacollective.com.au.