Most of the strata work The Blocked Drain Guys do comes to us through strata managers, building managers and property managers. A blocked common drain, a stormwater pit that overflows into the basement carpark or a sewer line full of tree roots affects many lots at once, and the person managing it needs a plumber who turns up, finds the cause and reports back in a form the committee can act on.
We are licensed plumbers based in Kirrawee, and drainage is the biggest part of our work. We clear and repair drains in apartment blocks, townhouse complexes and mixed-use buildings across Sydney and the Sutherland Shire, and we reline damaged pipes ourselves rather than handing that work to a subcontractor.
Strata Plumbers in Sydney Who Work With Strata Managers and Committees
Strata plumbing is different from plumbing in a single house because more people are involved in every decision. The strata manager takes the call, the committee approves the spend, the residents need access to their lots and the owners corporation pays the invoice. We work to that process.
When we attend a strata building, we explain what we found to the person who called us, then send a written quote with photos or CCTV footage of the drain. The committee can see the blockage, the crack or the root intrusion for themselves before they approve the repair. All of our reporting is set out so it can go straight into the committee’s records.
Our staff are police checked, which matters when a plumber needs to enter occupied units, plant rooms and basements.
Who Is Responsible for a Blocked Drain in a Strata Building in NSW
This is often the first question a strata manager or lot owner asks, so here is how the NSW Government explains it.
The owners corporation is responsible for maintaining and repairing common property, and each owner is responsible for anything within their own lot. The NSW Government lists common property as including items such as driveways, gardens, roofs, pipes and external walls. In most schemes, the owners corporation looks after plumbing in boundary walls and under the floor, and the lot owner looks after plumbing in internal walls and fixtures such as toilets, sinks, baths and showers.
For a blocked drain, that usually means:
- A blockage inside one unit’s sink, toilet or shower waste is normally the lot owner’s responsibility.
- A blockage in the shared sewer line, the stack that serves several units or the stormwater system is normally the owners corporation’s responsibility.
- Water damage that comes from common property is normally the owners corporation’s responsibility.
Every scheme is different, so the strata plan and by-laws decide the final answer. Our CCTV inspection helps with that decision, because the footage shows where the blockage sits and which section of pipe it is in. If the blockage turns out to be in the Sydney Water main rather than the building’s private pipework, the footage shows that as well.
Strata managers should also know that the NSW Government requires at least two independent quotes for work valued at $30,000 or more, and that this rule does not apply to emergency repairs such as burst or blocked water or sewerage pipes.
