Not all doors are treated the same way in strata. A front door is usually common property, an internal bedroom door is yours, and a garage door sits somewhere in the middle. The trick is knowing which is which — and townhouse schemes can have surprising rules built in.
What we're talking about
Doors in a townhouse strata scheme generally fall into a few categories:
- External doors — front entry, back door, doors opening to a courtyard
- Garage doors — roller doors, tilt doors, sectional doors
- Sliding doors — to balconies or courtyards
- Internal doors — bedroom, bathroom, laundry doors inside the lot
- Doors to common areas — if your scheme has shared spaces like a bin enclosure or laundry
Typical position
Here's the usual breakdown:
Usually OC
- Front entry door (the door slab and frame)
- External back doors
- Sliding doors to a courtyard or balcony (the unit)
- Garage doors that form part of the external building
- Doors to common property areas
- External painting of these doors
Usually owner
- Internal doors (bedroom, bathroom, study)
- Locksets and security upgrades you've added
- Door furniture (handles, knockers, peepholes you fitted)
- Security screens or grilles fitted by you
- Damage caused by the lot occupier
- Internal painting
Often grey
- Garage door motors (sometimes owner, sometimes OC)
- Doors replaced by previous owners
- Sliding door tracks (lot vs common)
- Front door colour changes
- Schemes with by-laws shifting responsibility
⚠ Important — townhouse schemes can be different
Apartment buildings almost always treat the front door as common property. In townhouses, the position can vary — some older schemes were registered with all "lot doors" treated as fittings, putting the cost back on the owner.
Garage doors are particularly inconsistent. In some townhouse schemes the garage forms part of the lot and the door is the owner's; in others the door is part of the external building skin and stays common property. The strata plan and any garage by-laws will tell you.
Grey areas and common disputes
Garage doors
The door itself is often common property, but the motor that drives it is sometimes considered a fitting and treated as the lot owner's responsibility. If your garage door motor packs it in, ask the strata manager to confirm the position before paying for a replacement. The opposite also happens — sometimes the motor is OC and the remote is yours.
Locks, keys and re-keying
If you change your locks for security reasons, the new lock is usually your responsibility going forward (though it's still mounted on a common property door). If the OC re-keys a building-wide system (e.g. master keying for all front doors), that's an OC cost.
Security screens and storm doors
Fitting a security door or screen door over a common property entry usually needs OC approval and ideally a registered by-law. Without one, you may be liable for ongoing maintenance and could be required to remove it if the OC ever objects.
Front door painting and colour
External painting of front doors is OC responsibility, but the colour is a scheme-wide decision. Individual owners cannot simply repaint their front door a different colour — the OC may require it be restored.
Damage caused by the occupier
A kicked-in door, a slammed-hard frame, water damage from a leak inside the lot — these can shift the cost back to the lot owner even though the door is common property. The OC arranges the repair; the cost may then be recovered from the owner.
Sources
Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 (NSW), s4 (definition of common property — external doors and frames are usually common property), s106 (strict duty to repair and maintain common property), s108 (changes to common property need approval).
Seiwa Pty Ltd v The Owners — Strata Plan No 35042 [2006] NSWSC 1157 — strict duty principle.
NSW Fair Trading — Strata living and dispute resolution guidance.