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Strata Cleaners Plan of common property
One strata scheme from above: eight lots off a corridor in a block, and four townhouses on their own land, with everything that is not a lot shaded, the inner surface of the walls in red-brown (New South Wales and South Australia), and a dashed line through the middle of the wall (South Australian plans deposited before 1 September 1988, and Tasmania) 12345678 stair lift bin room corridor entry shared garden T1T2T3T4 shared driveway the inner surface of the wall: NSW and SA, unless the plan says otherwise the middle of the wall: SA plans deposited before 1 September 1988 unless amended, and Tasmania (the centre of the structure) unless the plan says otherwise street common property a lot One strata scheme from above, drawn tall: the corridor runs down the sheet with four lots either side, and the townhouse row sits below a ruled line marked on its own land, the inner surface of the walls in red-brown (New South Wales and South Australia), and a dashed line through the middle of the wall (South Australian plans deposited before 1 September 1988, and Tasmania) 12345678 binrooma stairb liftc corridord entrye on its own land shared gardenf T1T2T3T4 shared drivewayg street
  • the inner surface of the wall: NSW and SA, unless the plan says otherwise
  • the middle of the wall: SA plans deposited before 1 September 1988 unless amended, and Tasmania (the centre of the structure) unless the plan says otherwise
  1. a b c f g the bin room, the stair, the lift, the shared garden and the shared driveway: who cleans the common property
  2. d the corridor: who hires the cleaner, and on what terms
  3. e the entry lobby: what to do when the common areas are not being cleaned
  4. 1 to 8 the lots, and the share of the cleaning each one pays: who pays for cleaning the common areas
  5. T1 to T4 the townhouses on their own land: balconies and courtyards
  6. walls the wall between a lot and the common property: where a lot ends and the common property begins
Question 2 of 6

Where does my lot end and the common property begin?

The line is where a lot meets the common property.

In New South Wales the line is the inner surface of the wall, or the boundaries the floor plan describes; in South Australia the inside face of the walls, floors and ceilings, unless the strata plan says otherwise.

Covers Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia, the ACT and Tasmania. General information about strata law in seven jurisdictions, not legal advice; your scheme’s own plan and by-laws decide.

The official pages

The pages behind this answer, jurisdiction by jurisdiction:

Why the line matters when something needs cleaning

The line decides who answers for a surface. New South Wales puts it this way: the owners corporation is responsible for maintenance and repair of the common property, and owners repair anything in their own property.

It comes up for the surfaces a lot shares with what is not a lot: walls, floors and ceilings. New South Wales defines a wall to include a door, window or other structure dividing a lot from common property.

Where the line is drawn, jurisdiction by jurisdiction

Where the line runs is set by the law and by the scheme’s own plan, not by a cleaner or a contractor who works there.

  • QLDA lot owner is responsible for the maintenance of most things inside the boundary of their lot, and the body corporate administers the common property.
  • NSWThe inner surface of the wall for a vertical boundary, the upper surface of the floor and the under surface of the ceiling for a horizontal one, or the boundaries described on the floor plan itself.
  • VICCommon property is whatever it is stated to be on the plan of subdivision.
  • WALand owned by all the owners and not contained within any lot is common property.
  • SASouth Australia puts the unit boundary at the inside face of the walls, floors and ceilings, unless the strata plan says otherwise. On a plan deposited before 1 September 1988 the boundary is midway between the surfaces, unless an amendment to the plan changed it.
  • ACTThere are 2 types of units in the ACT, and unit plans can only be for one of these types. Class A: the boundary of the unit is defined by floors, walls and ceilings of the unit. Class B: units that have a footprint on the ground, such as a townhouse, where the boundary is defined by a surveyed line around the land.
  • TASA boundary structure is a wall, floor, ceiling or fence (with or without a gate) that separates a lot from another lot or from common property.

One wall, read each way

Tasmania’s Act calls a wall, floor, ceiling or fence a boundary structure if it separates a lot from another lot or from common property. The boundary is the centre of that structure, unless the strata plan stipulates otherwise.

The same wall, read under each jurisdiction’s rule
JurisdictionWhat is inside the lotWhat the cleaner’s side takes in
QLDMost things inside the boundary of the lot, which the owner maintains.The common property, which the body corporate administers.
NSWThe wall’s inner surface, the floor’s upper surface and the ceiling’s under surface.The common property, which the owners corporation or strata committee must repair and maintain.
VICWhatever the plan of subdivision states as the lot.The parts the plan states as common property, which the owners corporation maintains.
WANot stated on the Landgate pages cited here.Land owned by all the owners and not contained within any lot is common property.
SAUp to the inside face of the walls, floors and ceilings, unless the strata plan says otherwise (midway between the surfaces on a plan deposited before 1 September 1988, unless an amendment to the plan changed it).Generally, the land and space outside the units.
ACTFor a unit in a building, inside its floors, walls and ceilings; for a townhouse, inside the surveyed line around the land.The common property outside those lines.
TASThe lot, up to the centre of the boundary structure, unless the strata plan stipulates otherwise.The common property on the other side of that centre line.

What your own plan and by-laws add

A scheme’s own plan and by-laws add to the rule: in New South Wales you can find what counts as common property by checking the strata plan and the by-laws.

A scheme may choose to adopt the common property memorandum, which specifies whether a lot owner or the owners corporation is responsible for the maintenance, repair or replacement of a part of the common property.

Where a title boundary is unclear, Victoria’s pages say Land Use Victoria can provide advice on owners corporation matters, including assisting in interpreting title boundaries, and to clarify your title boundary you check with the certifying licensed surveyor.

Where the rest of the question is answered

What the owner keeps inside the line is read against the by-laws. Can the body corporate make me clean my own balcony or courtyard?

What the line means for the cleaning contract is here. Who hires the strata cleaner, and on what terms?