I recently purchased an apartment and am a little confused about what is common property and what belongs to me.
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Answer by Neha Sharma, Hillsdale 2036 Sydney
- Determining what is common property and what is not can be difficult.
- When you purchase a lot or unit in a residential apartment strata scheme you effectively become the owner of a block of airspace and anything included in that airspace.
- The situation becomes more confusing with other types of strata scheme.
- The best way to identify the common property in a strata scheme is to look at the strata plan and then the most current Certificate of Title for the common property. These can be easily obtained for a fee from the NSW Land and Property Information (LPI) website.
- The floor plan in the registered strata plan legally defines the boundaries of all lots in a strata scheme.
- You should obtain legal advice regarding your specific strata plan. However generally speaking, anything that is not part of a lot is common property.
- A thick black line indicating a structural feature such as a wall defines lot boundaries. External walls, floors and ceilings are common property. Internal walls such as the wall that separates your kitchen and the bedroom, fixtures such as bench tops and built-in cupboards and floor coverings such as carpet are part of your lot.