Electrical — Who's Responsible?

The same legal rule that applies to plumbing applies to electrical: wiring serving only one lot is the lot owner's; wiring serving more than one lot is common property. In townhouses, most internal electrical wiring sits with the lot owner. Common driveway lighting and any wiring servicing multiple lots is the owners corporation's.

What we're talking about

Electrical in a townhouse scheme generally covers:

• The mains supply from street into the scheme
• Individual switchboards inside each townhouse
• Power points, light switches and circuits within each lot
• Light fittings inside the lot and on external lot surfaces
• Smoke alarms
• Common driveway and external area lighting
• Garage door motors and openers
• Air conditioning power (see Air conditioning)

Typical position

Grey areas and common disputes

Smoke alarms

NSW requires working smoke alarms in every residence. In a tenanted lot, the landlord (owner) has specific obligations under residential tenancy laws, including annual checks and battery replacement. For owner-occupied lots, the owner is responsible. The smoke alarm itself is inside the lot — owner's responsibility. If the smoke alarm is part of a hardwired common-property fire safety system (rare in townhouses), it's OC.

Switchboard upgrades and asbestos boards

Many older townhouse schemes (pre-1990s) have switchboards with asbestos backing. Replacement isn't urgent for the asbestos itself — undisturbed and intact, it's not dangerous — but it does become an issue when an electrician needs to do any work. The switchboard inside a lot is the owner's responsibility. If the scheme has a common-property switchboard for shared services, that's the OC's. Some schemes coordinate switchboard upgrades across all lots to share costs — this needs a special resolution and a clear agreement, since the work is technically inside each lot.

External lights on common walls

A wall light on the front of your townhouse, illuminating the path to your door, sits at the boundary between lot and common property. The fitting may be lot owner's (it serves only your lot); the wall it's mounted on is common property; the wiring may go either way depending on where it comes from. If it fails, the most practical answer is usually: the owner replaces the fitting like-for-like without changing wiring or position. Bigger changes need OC approval.

Garage door motors

See Doors. The door itself is often common property; the motor that drives it is often treated as a fitting and owner-maintained. This varies by scheme — confirm with your strata manager before paying for a replacement motor.

Common driveway lighting

Lights along the common driveway, on common gardens, or attached to common external walls illuminating shared areas — these are OC. If a bollard fails, if a globe blows on the common driveway light, it's the strata manager's call to organise replacement. Energy costs are paid from the administration fund.

Power outages and meter issues

If the power is out only in your townhouse, the issue is usually inside the lot or at your meter. If the whole scheme is dark, it's a common issue (or a wider network outage). When in doubt, check whether neighbours have power before calling an electrician.