Who pays for switchboard and electrical upgrades in an Inner West strata block — you or the owners corporation? It depends on where the fault or upgrade sits: work inside your own apartment is generally your responsibility, while common property switchboards, risers and shared wiring fall to the owners corporation under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015. EV chargers and individual lot upgrades usually sit in a grey zone that's worth clarifying with your strata committee before you book any work.

⚡ Quick Answers: Strata Electrical Upgrades (Inner West)

Is my switchboard my responsibility or the strata's? A switchboard entirely within your lot serving only your apartment is usually your responsibility; a shared distribution board or riser is common property.
Can I install an EV charger in my strata car space? Often yes, but most schemes require owners corporation approval first, especially if it needs new circuits through common property risers.
Who fixes a common property power fault? The owners corporation, since it affects shared infrastructure rather than just one lot.
Does my building need a safety switch? Yes — AS/NZS 3000 requires RCD protection on final subcircuits in both new and altered installations, common property included.
Can the strata committee refuse an EV charger request? They can refuse on reasonable technical grounds (like insufficient supply capacity), but blanket refusals are increasingly being challenged under NSW strata reforms.

1. Common property vs your lot — the basic split

Under the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, the owners corporation is responsible for maintaining and repairing common property, which includes shared switchboards, risers, meter rooms and the wiring that serves the building as a whole. Anything wired entirely within your lot and serving only your apartment is generally your responsibility as the owner. The tricky part in older Inner West blocks — plenty of which were converted from Victorian terraces or built mid-century — is that the boundary between "common" and "lot" wiring isn't always obvious just by looking at a switchboard.

2. Why older Inner West apartment blocks need extra care

A lot of the Inner West's medium-density stock in Leichhardt, Marrickville, Newtown and Petersham dates from an era when electrical loads were a fraction of what a modern household draws. Shared switchboards sized for lights and a few power points now have to carry air conditioning, induction cooktops and increasingly EV charging, on wiring that was never designed for it. That mismatch is exactly what turns into nuisance trips, hot switchboards or a defect finding at a building's next electrical safety check.

3. EV charging in strata — the current sticking point

EV charger requests are the most common electrical upgrade conflict we see in strata buildings right now. A charger that only needs a dedicated circuit within your own car space and lot supply is a simpler approval than one that needs new capacity run through common property risers. Either way, most schemes require owners corporation sign-off before installation, and a written proposal from your electrician covering load impact, cabling route and metering makes that approval process far smoother than turning up with a charger already bought.

4. Switchboard upgrades — whose job, whose cost

If your individual switchboard is genuinely isolated to your lot, an upgrade is generally your cost to arrange and fund, same as it would be in a standalone house. If the upgrade is really about the building's shared supply capacity — for example, several owners wanting EV chargers and the building's overall capacity needing review — that's a common property question the owners corporation needs to consider collectively, often with a Level 2 or Level 3 assessment of the building's total maximum demand.

5. Safety switches and common property compliance

AS/NZS 3000 requires residual current device protection on power and lighting final subcircuits in both new work and alterations, and this applies just as much to common property circuits as it does inside your lot. If your building's common areas — stairwells, car park lighting, shared laundries — haven't been checked recently, it's worth raising with your strata committee alongside any individual upgrade conversation.

Why some of this needs a Level 2 or Level 3 electrician

Standard licensed electrical work covers most in-lot upgrades, but where a building's overall supply capacity needs assessing — multiple EV chargers, a full building upgrade, or connection-level changes — that moves into Level 2 ASP or Level 3 design territory, not standard residential electrical work. Our guide on standard electrician vs Level 2 ASP explains that distinction if you're not sure which your building's project needs.

How High Demand Electrical helps

We work with owners corporations and individual lot owners across Sydney's Inner West on everything from a single apartment's switchboard upgrade to building-wide EV charging capacity planning. We can put together the written proposal your strata committee needs to approve a charger or upgrade, and tell you plainly whether your project is a straightforward lot upgrade or needs to go to the owners corporation first.

Strata Electrical FAQs (Inner West)

Can I be forced to pay for a common property upgrade I didn't ask for?

Owners corporations can levy owners for common property works via the usual strata levy process — this is a strata management question as much as an electrical one.

How long does EV charger approval usually take in strata?

It varies by scheme and committee meeting schedule — having a complete written proposal ready before the request speeds this up considerably.

Does my building need a maximum demand assessment before more EV chargers go in?

If several owners want chargers, yes — this confirms whether the existing supply can handle it or whether an upgrade is needed first.

Who do I call for a common property electrical fault?

Your strata manager first, so it's logged and actioned as a common property matter, though for anything urgent or dangerous call an electrician immediately and notify strata after.

Get Strata Electrical Advice

Talk to us about your strata building's electrical upgrade or EV charging plans. Call 0402 559 777 — we can meet with your strata committee or manager directly if that helps move an approval along.

Strata Electrical Upgrades in Sydney's Inner West: Switchboards, EV Chargers and Common Property Rules