In a NSW strata scheme, the owners corporation pays for electrical work on common property and the lot owner pays for work inside their lot. For wiring, what matters is not where the cable runs but how many lots it serves. A cable serving more than one lot is common property, even inside your wall.
That one distinction settles most strata electrical arguments. Here is how the boundary works, and who pays in each case.
Where does common property stop and your lot begin?
In most NSW strata plans registered since 1974, the boundary of a lot is the inner surface of the walls, the upper surface of the floor and the under surface of the ceiling. Everything on your side of that surface is yours. The structure itself, and the space between units, is common property.
So the light fitting on your ceiling, the power point on your wall and the appliances plugged into it sit inside your lot. The slab, the wall cavity and the riser the cables pass through do not. Check the registered strata plan rather than assuming, because some older two-lot and villa schemes draw the boundary elsewhere, which changes nearly every answer below.
Who pays for wiring inside the walls?
A wire, pipe, cable or duct that serves more than one lot is common property, and one that serves a single lot belongs to that lot even where it runs through common property. This is the rule that catches people out, because it ignores location entirely and looks only at what the cable feeds.
Two examples show the difference. The sub-main running from the main switchboard up the riser to feed eight units serves more than one lot, so the owners corporation repairs it. The circuit branching off to feed only your kitchen serves one lot, so it is yours, even though the cable sits in a common property wall. "It is in my wall, so it is the building's problem" is not a safe assumption.
Who is responsible for what, at a glance
| Item | Usually responsible | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer mains from the point of attachment to the main switchboard | Owners corporation | Serves the whole building. Level 2 ASP work. |
| The building's main switchboard and sub-mains | Owners corporation | Common property serving every lot. |
| Lobby, stairwell, car park and garden lighting | Owners corporation | Common property, billed to the common power account. |
| Exit and emergency lighting | Owners corporation | Common property, with a recurring testing duty attached. |
| Intercom, common TV antenna, car park door motor | Owners corporation | Shared services across lots. |
| Wiring that feeds only your unit | Lot owner | A service for one lot belongs to that lot, wherever it runs. |
| Power points, switches, light fittings and appliances inside the unit | Lot owner | Inside the lot boundary. |
| The circuit breakers in your unit's own sub-board | Lot owner | Protects that lot's circuits only. |
| The electricity meter itself | Neither | Owned by the metering provider, not the building or the owner. |
Treat this as the default, not the ruling. A by-law, an unusual lot boundary or an earlier owner's alteration can move any line in the table.
How does the owners corporation actually pay?
Common property repairs are paid from the owners corporation's funds, which every owner has already contributed to through levies. Routine repairs come from the administrative fund. Larger planned replacements, such as a switchboard, come from the capital works fund.
So "the owners corporation pays" does not mean somebody else pays. The cost is shared across all owners by unit entitlement, rather than falling on the owner who noticed the fault. NSW strata law also puts a standing duty on the owners corporation to keep common property in serviceable repair, and that duty does not pause because the fund is low.
Need the boundary settled before the work starts?
DM Electrical works with strata committees, building managers and owners across the Northern Beaches, North Shore and wider Sydney. We trace what a faulty circuit actually feeds, put the finding in writing for the committee, and quote the repair on the right side of the line. Level 1 and Level 2 ASP accredited, available 24/7.
Who pays when the building's mains or main switchboard need work?
The consumer mains and the main switchboard serve every lot, so they are common property and the owners corporation pays. It usually arrives as a surprise, because the trigger is an Ausgrid defect notice or a failure that cuts power to several units at once.
Work from the point of attachment through to the main switchboard is Level 2 ASP work, which a standard electrician cannot legally carry out. A shared private power pole feeding the scheme is common property too. Older blocks tend to hit this once the building's load has outgrown its original supply, at which point a switchboard upgrade becomes a capital works item rather than a repair.
What about an urgent fault after hours?
Urgent common property faults do not wait for the next committee meeting. Most schemes give the strata manager or the committee authority to spend up to an agreed limit on urgent repairs, so a building is not left without power pending a vote.
If power is out across common areas, or more than one unit is affected, report it as a building fault and say on the phone that the property is strata, because the electrician needs access to the common meter room rather than just your unit. Keep the written fault report, because that is what settles responsibility afterwards.
When a by-law moves the responsibility
A registered by-law can shift maintenance responsibility for a piece of common property onto an individual owner. The mechanism is a common property rights by-law, granted when an owner wants to install something on common property.
Air conditioning condensers on a common wall and privately funded EV chargers in a shared car park usually carry a by-law making the benefiting owner responsible for maintenance and repair. Buyers inherit these obligations with the lot, so an owner can be liable for equipment they never installed.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays for electrical repairs in a strata building?
The owners corporation pays for electrical work on common property, and the lot owner pays for work inside their own lot. Common property covers the consumer mains, the main switchboard, sub-mains, common area lighting and any wiring serving more than one lot. That share is funded from levies, so the cost falls on all owners in proportion to unit entitlement.
Is the wiring inside my unit's walls common property?
It depends on what the wiring serves, not where it runs. A cable serving only your lot belongs to you even where it passes through a common property wall. A cable serving more than one lot, such as a sub-main feeding several units, is common property even inside your wall. An electrician has to trace what the cable feeds before responsibility can be settled.
Who pays if a fault in the common switchboard cuts power to my unit?
The owners corporation pays, because the main switchboard is common property serving every lot. The same applies to the consumer mains between the point of attachment and that switchboard, which is Level 2 ASP work. Report it as a building fault, and tell the electrician the property is strata so they can arrange access to the common meter room.
Can a by-law make me responsible for common property?
Yes. A registered common property rights by-law can transfer maintenance and repair responsibility for a specific item to an individual lot owner. It is the standard approach for anything an owner installs on common property, such as an air conditioning condenser or an EV charger in a shared car park. The obligation passes with the lot, so it can apply to an owner who never installed the equipment.
The bottom line
Most strata electrical disputes come down to what a cable serves rather than where it sits. Anything feeding more than one lot is common property and the owners corporation's cost. Anything feeding only your unit is yours, wherever the cable runs. Check the strata plan, check whether a by-law applies, and get the fault traced in writing before anyone commits to paying. DM Electrical covers both sides of that line for Sydney strata schemes. Get in touch or read more about our commercial and strata electrical work. This is general information rather than legal advice, so check your own plan and by-laws for anything contentious.