Common Property or Yours? The Strata Electrical Cost Scenarios That Aren't as Simple as They Look

Who actually pays when an electrical fault in a strata building sits somewhere between common property and someone's own lot? The general rule is straightforward: the owners corporation pays for common property such as the main switchboard, risers and shared metering equipment, and the lot owner pays for anything inside their own unit. The scenarios that trip strata committees up are the ones that do not fall cleanly on either side of that line, and that is where a genuinely closer look pays off.

⚡ Quick Answers: Strata Electrical Cost Scenarios

• Who pays for a fault in the main switchboard? The owners corporation, because the main switchboard and its riser are common property serving the whole building.
• Who pays if one unit's individual meter fails? Usually the lot owner, since an individual meter and the wiring feeding it from the common switchboard onward belong to that lot, though the boundary can shift depending on where in the metering chain the fault sits.
• Who pays for an EV charger installed on common property but used by one owner? This is rarely a simple either/or answer and usually comes down to the by-law or special resolution that approved the installation in the first place.
• Who pays for shared driveway or basement car park lighting? Almost always the owners corporation, since it serves the common area rather than any one lot.
• Does it matter which floor or wing the fault is in? No. Cost allocation follows what the equipment is and who it serves, not where in the building it happens to be located.
• Can a strata committee get this wrong and still be liable? Yes. Getting the allocation wrong does not change who was legally responsible, it just means the money has to be sorted out afterwards, which is harder than getting it right the first time.

1. The general rule, and why it only gets you so far

Every strata electrician will tell a committee the same starting point: common property belongs to the owners corporation, and anything inside an individual lot belongs to that owner. The main switchboard, the riser running up through the building, and any shared metering equipment sit on the common property side of that line. A fault inside one unit's own board or wiring sits on the lot owner's side. That rule genuinely resolves most day to day requests, and it is the same principle our strata committee defect report guide sets out for handling a defect notice through to resolution.

Where committees get caught out is assuming that rule answers every situation on its own. It answers the easy cases. The harder ones need you to actually trace the fault to a specific piece of equipment and ask what that equipment is for, not just which floor it happens to be on.

2. Scenario one: a fault in the common switchboard

This is the cleanest scenario and worth stating plainly so it is not second guessed. The main switchboard, including its incoming supply, common busbars, and any shared protection devices, is common property under the same logic that makes the building's roof or structure common property. A fault here, whether it is a tripping main, a failing isolator or general deterioration from age, is the owners corporation's cost to fix, full stop, regardless of whether the fault happens to be affecting one unit more visibly than others at the moment it is reported.

3. Scenario two: a fault in an individual unit's own meter

This looks similar to scenario one on the surface, because it is still "in the switchboard room". The difference is what is actually broken. If the fault is in equipment that serves only one lot, such as that lot's individual meter, its dedicated isolator, or the sub mains running from the common switchboard into that specific unit, the cost generally sits with the lot owner, even though the physical location of the fault is the same shared room the common switchboard sits in.

The practical test a strata electrician applies is simple: does this piece of equipment serve the whole building, or does it serve one lot exclusively? Location in the building tells you very little; function tells you almost everything.

4. Scenario three: an EV charger installed on common property

This is genuinely the least straightforward of the four scenarios, and it is worth treating as its own case rather than forcing it into the common property versus lot owner framework used for faults. An EV charger installed in a common area car space, such as a basement car park, sits physically on common property, but it exists to serve one owner's vehicle. Strata schemes generally resolve this through a specific by-law or special resolution at the time the charger is approved, one that sets out who pays for the charger itself, who pays for any switchboard or supply upgrade needed to support it, and who is responsible for its ongoing maintenance and any electricity it draws.

Without that agreement in place before installation, a fault or a later dispute over the charger's power draw becomes far harder to resolve, because there is no clear document to point to that settled the cost question at the outset. Our Level 2 electrician team can assess what a common property EV charger installation would actually require from the building's supply before that by-law is drafted, so the committee is approving a resolution based on real numbers rather than a guess.

5. Scenario four: shared driveway, car park or common area lighting

Lighting that serves a shared driveway, a common stairwell, a basement car park or any other genuinely common area is almost always the owners corporation's responsibility, in the same way the main switchboard is. The one place this gets murky is where a light fitting that looks like it serves common property was actually wired, at some point in the building's history, off an individual lot's circuit rather than the common supply, which does happen in older buildings that have had piecemeal electrical work over the decades. Tracing which circuit actually feeds a given fitting, rather than assuming based on where it physically sits, is a genuine part of resolving this scenario correctly.

6. Why getting this wrong still costs the scheme money

A committee that allocates a cost incorrectly, either by making the owners corporation pay for something that was genuinely a lot owner's responsibility, or by asking a lot owner to pay for common property work, does not change who was legally responsible for it. It just means the money has to be reallocated after the fact, usually alongside an argument that could have been avoided with a proper assessment at the time the fault was first reported. A written scope from a licensed electrician that identifies exactly which piece of equipment failed, and states plainly whether that equipment is common property or part of an individual lot, is the single most useful document a committee can have on file before any cost is levied either way.

Why it's Level 2 ASP work

Common switchboards, risers and shared metering equipment in a strata building almost always sit above the scope of a standard electrical licence, particularly once the supply exceeds 100A or the fault sits close to the point of common coupling. A Level 2 electrician can trace a fault back to the exact equipment responsible, confirm whether it is common property or lot specific, and carry out any switchboard upgrade or defect notice rectification work that follows, all under the one accreditation the network actually requires for this class of work.

How High Demand Electrical helps

High Demand Electrical works with strata managers and owners corporations across Sydney's West, South-West and Sutherland Shire, and has handled cost allocation disputes for building managers who needed an independent, written assessment of exactly what failed and whose responsibility it was. As a licensed local team rather than a call centre, the same electrician who inspects the fault is the one who writes the report the committee actually relies on to make its funding decision, rather than a generic quote with no explanation of where the common property line sits.

Strata Electrical Cost Scenarios FAQs (Sydney)

Is there a strata by-law that fixes all of this automatically?

Not for the general common property versus lot owner split, which follows the physical nature of the equipment rather than a by-law. Specific situations like an EV charger on common property are the exception, where a by-law or special resolution genuinely does set the terms.

What if the strata committee genuinely cannot tell which side of the line a fault sits on?

This is exactly what a written electrical assessment is for. See our defect report workflow guide for how a proper report moves a committee from an ambiguous complaint to a documented decision.

Does it matter which network the building is connected to for these decisions?

The common property versus lot owner principle applies the same way regardless of distributor, though the technical detail of how a fault is traced can differ slightly. Use our postcode checker to confirm whether the building sits in Ausgrid or Endeavour Energy territory.

Should the committee get a written scope before approving any cost?

Yes, every time, even for a fault that looks obvious. A written scope from a licensed electrician is the document that protects the committee if an owner later disputes who should have paid.

Can a facilities manager request this kind of assessment directly, or does it need to come through the committee?

Either can request it. See our guide to the shared compliance problem facilities and strata managers both face for how the two roles typically divide this kind of work.

Get a Clear Answer on Who Pays

If your strata committee or building manager needs a written, independent assessment of exactly what failed and whose responsibility it is, get in touch before the cost is allocated either way. Get a Switchboard Assessment Quote or call 0402 559 777. Every scenario above depends on the specific equipment involved, so a proper site assessment always comes before any cost is confirmed.