This article discusses how owners can address delays by the owners corporation in repairing a boundary fence through meetings, motions, and mediation.
Question: What can I do to bring forward repairs to a boundary fence if the owners corporation has delayed the work for six years?
The dividing fence between my lot and my neighbour’s property, which is a separate free-standing house not part of our scheme, is in an extreme state of disrepair. The owners corporation has scheduled the repairs for six years, which I find unacceptable. What can I do to have the work completed sooner?
Answer: Get involved in the discussion of the owners at a general meeting.
I’ll assume, and without sighting the strata plan, that the boundary fence is not a private fence between you and your neighbour and that it is common property. If it were a private fence for your lot and the neighbour, the responsibility for the fence would generally lie with the two adjoining property owners. You could liaise directly with the neighbour, without needing to involve the owners corporation.
Considering this a common property fence, I suggest you get involved in the discussion of the owners at a general meeting. All owners have input and a say in the repair and maintenance of common property, as well as in how funds in the trust account are allocated.
If you are not getting any assistance from the strata committee or strata manager, take the initiative and request a motion for the next general meeting through the strata manager. Consider obtaining your own quotes, if possible. This would invoke a discussion amongst all owners and may force the issue. A repair of the fence may be undertaken.
If you have exhausted all reasonable approaches, make an application with NSW Fair Trading for mediation with the owners corporation.
Mark Louis
Vital Strata Management
E: mark@vitalstrata.com.au
P: 02 9008 1112
This post appears in the November 2025 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Have a question or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.
Read next:
- NSW: Going it Alone With Repairs and Maintenance
- NSW: Common Property Water Leaks: A Strict Duty to Repair
- NSW: Q&A Common Property Defects and Reimbursement for Repairs
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