Common Property and Lots

Common property is (legally speaking) everything in and outside your Corporation building that is not part of each owner’s lot. In most situations that’s all the shared access areas, the main building structures (external walls, floors and roofs, the shared building services, the ground and the outside airspace. But, the exact detail varies from building to building so you will need to check specifically what applies in your circumstances.

Corporation lot owners own the airspace within their apartment, balconies and terraces, car parking spaces and storage spaces. They also own/have exclusive control over, the internal walls, fittings and finishes. Everything else in a building is usually common property. However, the exact detail varies from building to building so you need to check specifically what applies in your circumstances.

The best way to find out what is and isn’t common property is by checking your Corporation plan. Unless you’re experienced in reading Corporation plans you may also need some help understanding it from your Manager.

In Queensland, Corporation buildings can be standard format plans or building format plans, affecting who owns the main building structures. In a standard format plan, the buildings are owned by each owner and they only share expenses for access-ways (like driveways). However, a building format plan is like typical Corporation buildings where most of the building is common property and the expenses shared by all owners. Be aware that the exact detail in these plans varies from building to building so you need to check specifically what applies in your situation.