Units, townhouses · shared ground

Owners corporations and pests

In Victoria, the owners corporation looks after the common property: the Owners Corporations Act 2006 says it must, among other things, manage, administer, repair and maintain it. So with a pest problem in a block, the first question is whether it sits on common property, and the plan of subdivision is where that is settled.

General information about Victorian law, not legal advice. Consumer Affairs Victoria, listed at the foot of this page, is the official place to check.

Duty
Standing: repair and maintain
Ground
Common property, per the plan
Members
Every lot owner, automatically
Office
Consumer Affairs Victoria

What an owners corporation is

An owners corporation, once called a body corporate, manages the common property of a development, whether residential, commercial, retail, industrial or mixed-use. The Owners Corporations Act 2006, which took effect on 31 December 2007, turned bodies corporate into owners corporations and sets out their duties and powers.

One is created automatically when a plan of subdivision that contains common property is registered at Land Use Victoria. If you own property affected by it, you are a member automatically, with legal and financial responsibilities to it.

Reading the plan

The plan of subdivision marks out the parcels that can be sold on their own, which are called lots. What the plan marks as common property is the owners corporation’s to look after. Consumer Affairs Victoria puts it this way:

“Common property is whatever it is stated to be on the plan of subdivision and may include gardens, passages, walls, stairwells, pathways, driveways, lifts, foyers and fences.”
Consumer Affairs Victoria, What is an owners corporation?

The list is what common property may include, not what it always includes. The plan for your own building is the document that decides.

Pests that cross the lot lines

Some pests make the question of whose problem it is hard to keep inside one lot. Three that the Victorian sources speak to:

Termites

The Victorian Building Authority says termite damage follows no predictable pattern, and infested sites can be found in roofs and even high-rise buildings. Colonies regularly re-infest, with several nests linked to one colony across a radius of more than 50 metres. For what to do if you find them, follow the VBA’s termites guide.

Gardens appear on Consumer Affairs Victoria’s list of what common property may include, so in a block the garden beds may be the owners corporation’s to look after.

Bed bugs

The Better Health Channel says bed bugs are most often found where occupants change often, and names apartment complexes alongside hotels, motels, hostels and shelters. They hide in luggage, clothing, bedding and furniture.

Spraying outside

When a pesticide treatment is going on outside, the Better Health Channel recommends telling neighbours in advance. Getting ready for a treatment has the rest of the household advice.

If you rent a unit

For a renter, Consumer Affairs Victoria’s advice is to tell the rental provider immediately on seeing signs of pests. It is plain about how serious this can be:

“In extreme cases, they can make a property unsafe to live in and are an urgent repair that must be fixed immediately.”
Consumer Affairs Victoria, Pests, infestations and mould

The law does not always say who must fix or pay for a pest problem, but if it comes from the building structure, a renter can ask for an urgent repair. Fleas in the house sets out the rest of the renting rules on who pays.

Buying into one

Sellers, or the agents acting for them, must have Consumer Affairs Victoria’s due diligence checklist available to buyers at open for inspections. It is meant to help a buyer spot issues such as buying into an owners corporation.

If the trouble is a possum in the roof, possums in the roof has Victoria’s trapping and release rules.