As body corporates are responsible for maintaining common property (i.e. property that does not belong to any individual strata title owners), they are also responsible for the maintenance of ESMs that can be classified as ‘common property’. These are ESMs that can be found in common areas like car parks, foyers, elevators, staircases, on the building’s rooftop, and any shared facilities (i.e. gyms, kitchens, pools, etc.) within the building.
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The costs associated with the installation of new ESMs in the building, as well as the repairs, maintenance, and testing of existing ESMs, must all be covered by annual strata fees and sinking fund levies. If emergency repairs are ever required, it’s the responsibility of body corporates to provide notice in writing to all strata title owners that a special levy will need to be paid by title owners to cover the costs of these repairs.
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Although owners corporations are responsible for maintaining the ESMs in common areas, it is the responsibility of individual strata title owners to ensure that the ESMs located on their strata lot are kept in good working order. Owner occupiers and landlords are responsible for maintaining smoke alarms that are located on their strata titles, as well as any other fire protection equipment that may not be connected to a building-wide system. This does not include fire sprinklers or any other fire protection equipment or features that have been provided by the building, as these ESMs are also considered to be common property and are thus, the responsibility of your strata management team.