Windows in Strata and Community Group Buildings

Who owns the window?

Windows are one of the most commonly misunderstood items in a strata or community group, because the answer is usually both. The frame is common property but the glass is the owner's.

The split sits on the underlying boundary rule.

Strata Title: Section 5 of the Strata Titles Act

Under Section 5 of the Strata Titles Act 1988 (SA), the boundary of a unit is the inner surface of the external wall. The window frame sits in the wall and is therefore common property so the corporation maintains it under Section 25. The glass sits inside the frame and is part of the unit's interior so the owner maintains it.

In practice this means: the corporation handles frame rust, frame painting, sash mechanism failures, and weatherproofing of the frame-to-wall join. The owner handles broken glass, scratched glass, condensation between sealed panes, and the curtains and blinds inside.

Community Title: Sections 28 and 75

Under the Community Titles Act 1996 (SA), the answer depends on the division type. In strata divisions (one lot above another), the same split applies as in strata title - the frame is common property and the glass is the owner's responsibility. In lot-beside-lot divisions, the windows of buildings within a lot are entirely the lot owner's; the corporation only maintains windows on common-property buildings.

Four common window types

Aluminium sliding

The default material in most South Australian unit groups built from the 1970s onward is aluminium sliding. These are long-lasting, low-maintenance and easy to operate. They do have common faults: failed runners (the sash sticks or jumps the track), perished rubber seals and corroded latches in coastal areas.

Aluminium frames don't need painting as the powder coat or anodising will outlast most other building elements, but they do benefit from an annual rinse to clear salt and dust from the runners and sills.

Aluminium casement and awning

Hinge mechanisms wear out faster than sliding tracks, particularly on awning windows that take wind load when open. Symptoms include: the sash won't stay open, the winder skips teeth or the window won't close fully. Hardware kits are inexpensive; a window installer can usually replace a casement winder in under an hour.

Timber frame

Timber is common in pre-1970s buildings and some heritage-protected groups. It is beautiful when maintained but can be expensive when neglected. The two killers are moisture (paint failure lets water into the timber, which then rots from the inside out) and movement (timber expands and contracts seasonally, sashes stick or drop, glass breaks at the putty line).

A timber frame in good condition needs repainting roughly every 5–8 years on the weather side, longer on sheltered elevations. Use a quality exterior paint and follow the surface preparation steps, burning off failed paint, filling, sanding, priming bare timber with two top coats. Cutting corners on prep is the most common reason a paint job lasts three years instead of seven.

Steel frame

Steel is rare in strata groups but found in some 1950s-era buildings. Steel frames rust at the bottom rail first (where condensation runs to and pools), then up the jambs. Once rust has bridged from inside to outside, the frame is effectively at end-of-life, even a repaint won't hold. Replacement with aluminium is usually the right answer.

Window glass : the owner's responsibility

Broken glass is the owner's responsibility to replace, regardless of how it broke. However, there are some exceptions:

• Storm or vandal damage may be insurable under the corporation's policy, particularly if multiple units are affected. Check the policy excess against the cost of replacement before lodging a claim as the excess for a single broken pane often eats most of the cost.

• Damage caused by failure of the frame (e.g., a sash drops because a hinge corroded, breaking the glass on the way down) is the corporation's problem because the frame is the corporation's.

Safety glass

Australian Standard AS 1288 requires safety glass (toughened or laminated) in certain locations: full-length glass in doors and adjacent panels, glass within 300mm of door swings, glass below 500mm from floor level, and shower screens. If a non-safety pane breaks in one of these locations, the replacement must be safety glass, pre-existing glazing is not exempt at the point of replacement.

Sealed double-glazed units

These are increasingly common in new builds and energy-efficiency retrofits. The two panes are sealed at the edges with desiccant between them; over time (typically 15–25 years) the seal fails and condensation appears between the panes. The unit is generally not repairable, so replacement is the only fix. Costs are higher than single glazing but lower than most people expect; a 1m × 1m sealed unit is in the low hundreds of dollars to manufacture.

Window maintenance rhythm

• Annual: rinse runners and tracks, vacuum out grit, lubricate hinges and winders with a dry silicone spray (not WD-40 as it attracts dust).

• Every 3–5 years: replace perished rubber seals on aluminium frames; this is cheap and dramatically improves weatherproofing.

• Every 5–8 years (timber frames): inspect and repaint weather-side elevations; spot-prime any bare timber within a season of noticing it.

• Every 10–15 years: budget for replacement of casement and awning hardware on heavily-used windows.

Get in touch

If your group is weighing a window replacement program, or you're trying to work out whether a problem is the corporation's or the owner's, we're happy to help you scope the work. Acacia Collective manages strata and community title groups across South Australia.

Call us on 1300 792 255 or email hello@acaciacollective.com.au.