Commissioners Corner – Who cleans my windows? (QLD)
I daresay there would be few, if any, of us who relish the thought of cleaning windows in our homes.
Spare a thought then for situations in community titles schemes in which there is a multi-storey building where the windows need cleaning and on a regular basis.
Not only does this scenario post some logistical issues – for example, how cleaners are going to be safely manoeuvred up and down the building – there is also the question of where responsibility for window cleaning might lie.
My office’s Information Service receives this type of enquiry on a regular basis and so this column will try to give some general information about what may and may not apply to window cleaning.
I would say at the outset that it is sometimes difficult to give a definitive answer as circumstances can differ greatly and so if there is any ambiguity or dispute about where responsibility lies, it may be appropriate to seek definitive legal advice.
Such legal advice might also be useful in determining what precautions are required to ensure safety in window cleaning. For example, what responsibility or liability – if any – a body corporate or lot owner may have in a multi-storey building towards the window cleaners, including what workplace health and safety standards might apply. These are not matters on which my office can provide information.
As a general rule, the building format plan (BFP) is a form of subdivision which usually applies to multi-story unit complexes, and in some cases, other developments like townhouses.
A BFP defines land using the structural elements of a building, including floors, walls and ceilings.
Our website gives more detail on BFPs, including some diagrams for use as a guide, at:
Under the BFP, the body corporate must maintain common property, as well as some things that are not on common property. The body corporate is usually responsible for maintaining things such as:
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- the outside of the building;
- the foundations and roof of the building;
- roofing membranes that are not on common property but give protection for lots or common property;
- essential structural elements of the building (like foundation structures, roofing structures that provide protection and load-bearing walls) even if they are not on common property; and
- any doors or windows, and their fittings in a boundary wall between a lot and the common property (including in balconies, and including garage doors and their fittings).
Whereas the lot owner is generally responsible for things such as:
- the inside of the lot, including all fixtures and fittings inside the lot;
- doors and windows leading onto a balcony that forms part of the lot; and
- exclusive use areas the owner has the benefit of, unless the exclusive use by-law says otherwise.
The body corporate cannot pay for, or levy owners for, maintenance that a lot owner is responsible for – such as cleaning windows within a lot – unless it:
- has an agreement with an owner; and
- charges that owner for the cost of the work.
A body corporate can undertake maintenance and recover the ‘reasonable cost’ from the lot owner if the owner has not undertaken its maintenance responsibilities.
As can be seen from the above, making a precise determination on window-cleaning responsibility is not necessarily straightforward.
Further guidance may be found from a number of adjudicators’ orders issued about maintenance and window cleaning, which can be found at http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/qld/QBCCMCmr/.
For further information and for general queries about the body corporate legislation please contact our Information Service on Freecall 1800 060 119, online www.qld.gov.au/bodycorporatequestion or visit our website www.qld.gov.au/bodycorporate.
This article was contributed by Chris Irons, Commissioner for Body Corporate and Community Management.
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Insufficient examples of when a BC is responsible for cleaning windows on the outside of a multi storey building. Bullet point above on BC responsibilities should have been highlighted and expanded on more.
Hello Lexie and thank you for your comment. It is not possible to outline every situation in the one article, as every situation is different. If you have some further queries, you might like to contact the Information Service of my Office on 1800 060 119.
The above article regarding window cleaning, states that the lot owner is responsible for fixtures and fittings within the lot. Yet the insurance companies regard permanent fixtures such as cupboards the responsibility of the Body Corporate. Our building has just had an instance where a hot water pipe split in the kitchen of an apartment and water ran down through the light fittings into the kitchen of the apartment below causing water damage. The insurance company declared that the BC was responsible for the replacement of the kitchen cupboards in the unit below as they were permanent fixtures.
Is this correct – or is a another example of a ‘grey’ area?
Hello Liz and thank you for your query. You might like to contact the Information Service of my Office on 1800 060 119 for some further information about this matter.
What are these ‘fittings’ attached to garage doors?
Most such doors are remote controlled and have a motor attached to raise and lower the door so is this a fitting included in a ‘fitting’ definition or is it specifically excluded as a fitting? Are the tracks a fitting? Are the electronics a ‘fitting’?
Far too many grey areas seen in this ‘Who is really responsible?’
Hello Fred and thank you for your comment. It is not possible to outline every situation in the one article, as every situation is different. If you have some further queries, you might like to contact the Information Service of my Office on 1800 060 119.
Article says that BC is usually responsible for maintaining such things as:
any doors or windows, and their fittings in a boundary wall between a lot and the common property (including in balconies, and including garage doors and their fittings)
and
Whereas the owner is generally responsible for such things as :
doors and windows leading onto a balcony that forms part of the lot;
These two statements seem to conflict and further clarification would be useful
Hello Ian and thanks for your comment and query. You might like to contact the Information Service of my Office on 1800 060 119 for some further information about this matter.
Replying to Liz regarding the Insurance company claiming kitchen cupboards as permanent fixtures. I believe that the cupboards form part of the contents and should be claimable upon your personal householder insurance. Fixtures that the Body Corporate is responsible for are the shower screens and ceramic cook tops.
Liz, doesn’t like to make a D on line, I wonder why?
Apologies Liz Chris Irons doesn’t like to make the D