This article discusses how Queensland bodies corporate can manage utility use and cost responsibilities for commercial lots in a strata scheme.
Question: Is it fair or compliant for a shopfront lot’s toilet to use common property water and power without separate metering or disclosure?
I live in a 3-year-old block of 10 units. One of the lots is a shopfront that has a single toilet connected to the body corporate’s water tanks, which are on common property. The system uses an electric pump powered by common property electricity to supply the toilet.
There’s no mention of this plumbing setup in the disclosure documents or bylaws for any of the lots, including the shopfront. It seems unfair that other owners are covering the cost of this water and power use. Can you provide any guidance or references to support that this is an incorrect or unreasonable arrangement, so I can raise it with the body corporate?
Answer: Whilst the individual elements that service the lot would be lot owner responsibility, other elements that service more than just the lot would be the responsibility of the body corporate.
If the water tanks, pump and infrastructure relate solely to supplying utility services to the particular lot, the lot owner is responsible for those devices and associated infrastructure, irrespective of whether they are situated wholly or partly on the common property or lot.
However, it sounds as though the tanks serve other purposes, and that water supply to the particular lot is just one of the purposes for which water is drawn from the tank. In that case, while the individual elements that service the lot (e.g. pump and associated pipes) would be lot owner responsibility, the tanks and other elements that service more than just the lot would be the responsibility of the body corporate.
In terms of the power and water costs, if the body corporate is paying these, the body corporate should require the owner to enter into a service agreement with the body corporate to reimburse the body corporate for the costs arising from the supply (to the greatest practicable extent). If the owner refuses, the body corporate should look to take steps to disconnect the relevant supply. A service agreement could also capture the reasonable proportion of maintenance costs for the tanks and other infrastructure attributable to supplying the lot.
Jarad Maher
Grace Lawyers
E: jarad.maher@gracelawyers.com.au
This post appears in the November 2025 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
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Read next:
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