Trades, access and your details: what an owners corporation must tell you first

A leak is traced to a balcony above yours, and suddenly trades need to get into your apartment and people want your phone number. The question lot owners ask is whether any of that can happen without them being told. Ben Quirk’s answer in LookUpStrata is that the owners corporation does have the power to arrange maintenance and inspections affecting lots — but “those powers are not unlimited” and are generally subject to proper notice.

Sharing your contact details

The owners corporation may pass limited contact details to a contractor where it is reasonably necessary to carry out its functions — arranging access for a repair, an inspection, or work on common property. It is not a general licence to hand over your details, and tenants may be covered by different notice rules again.

Being told before trades enter your lot

Where entry into a lot is required, the legislation generally requires written notice to the occupier before access happens, except in an emergency. Consumer Affairs Victoria summarises that as at least seven days’ written notice unless an exception applies, such as an emergency, a tenant’s own notice requirements under tenancy law, or a documented arrangement to the contrary.

Typical examples where access matters: inspecting or repairing common property services that run through your lot, investigating water ingress, and works that will affect your apartment or the apartments around it.

What good practice looks like

A well-run owners corporation tells residents in advance that contractors will contact them about inspections or works, particularly where there is a history of leaks or water ingress. Where the building has documented defects, an occupier should reasonably expect notice of testing, a clear description of what is being tested and why, and a contact to ask questions of.

If it keeps happening without notice

• Ask for the maintenance notices and the instructions given to the contractor.
• Ask what authority the owners corporation relied on to disclose your details.
• Ask to see its privacy policy or records-handling procedure.
• If it cannot be resolved, VCAT hears owners corporation disputes.

Worth knowing at the same time: the Act also covers the reverse situation. Where a lot is not properly maintained, the owners corporation can serve a notice requiring the owner to carry out repairs — so this is a two-way set of obligations, not a one-way right.

Where to go next

See the glossary for common property, lot liability and VCAT, and the maintenance responsibilities explained in who pays for repairs.

Source: VIC: Can the owners corporation share my contact details with tradespeople without telling me? by Ben Quirk, Senior Owners Corporation Manager at TOCS, first published by LookUpStrata. Background: Consumer Affairs Victoria.