Strata Garden Maintenance in Queensland: Who Is Responsible (Common Property vs Exclusive Use)?
Confusion about who maintains gardens is one of the fastest ways for a body corporate to end up with complaints, weeds taking over, and a contractor relationship that turns reactive.
If you manage a strata scheme in Queensland (committee member, body corporate manager, or on-site manager), this guide breaks down the practical reality:
Who is responsible for garden maintenance in Queensland strata
How exclusive use courtyards change responsibility
What to check before you engage a gardener
How to prevent disputes with a clear maintenance scope
(General information only, not legal advice.)
The default rule in Queensland: body corporate maintains common property
In Queensland, the basic position is straightforward:
The body corporate must maintain common property in good condition.
Lot owners must maintain their own lots.
In practical terms, this usually means:
Body corporate typically covers:
Lawns and garden beds on common property
Entry landscaping and street frontage
Common pathways, courtyards, bin areas (tidy/blow-down is often bundled into grounds scope)
This is why most strata gardening contracts are engaged and paid by the body corporate (via levies), and then managed by the committee or body corporate manager.
The complication: exclusive use areas (courtyards, small yards)
Many townhouse and unit schemes include outdoor areas that “feel private” but are legally tied to the scheme as exclusive use common property.
In Queensland, the general position is:
The lot owner who has exclusive use of that area is responsible for maintaining it and paying operating costs, unless the by-law says otherwise.
So, for example, a courtyard garden that is “exclusive use” often becomes the lot owner’s responsibility — not the body corporate’s — depending on the wording of the scheme’s by-laws.
Why buyers care: if you don’t clarify this upfront, gardeners get dragged into disputes about “that courtyard hedge” or “that strip of lawn behind Lot 7”.
The most common strata disputes in grounds maintenance
These are the patterns that cause friction:
1) “It’s common property, but only one lot benefits”
This is usually where exclusive use is involved. If it’s exclusive use and the by-law places maintenance on the lot owner, the body corporate shouldn’t be paying for it (unless it chooses to).
2) The contract scope says “general gardening”
That wording is a dispute generator. It leaves unanswered:
Which garden beds?
How often are hedges trimmed?
Is green waste removal included?
Are weeds on hard surfaces included?
Who maintains boundary planting?
3) Frequency doesn’t match Brisbane growth cycles
In Brisbane, lawns often need more frequent mowing in spring/summer and can reduce in winter. Even Brisbane City Council notes a higher mowing cadence in summer than winter in its parks programme.
If your strata has a single fixed frequency year-round with no seasonal adjustment, presentation often collapses in peak growth.
What to check before you engage a strata gardening contractor
If you want fewer complaints and cleaner budgeting, check these items before signing:
1) What exactly is common property on your plan?
Don’t rely on assumptions. Confirm boundaries on the scheme plan and identify:
Lawns
Garden beds
Verge areas
Path edges
Any “in-between” strips behind lots
2) Do you have exclusive use by-laws?
If yes, identify the areas and confirm who maintains them. In Queensland, the exclusive use by-law position is a major determinant.
3) Does the scope specify inclusions and exclusions?
A good strata grounds scope should clearly state:
Mowing/edging frequency
Weed control (beds + hard surfaces)
Hedge trimming cadence
Green waste removal
Blow-down and tidy of common areas
What is classed as an extra (mulch top-up, pressure cleaning, one-off resets)
4) Do you want fixed monthly pricing or per-visit invoicing?
Most committees prefer fixed monthly pricing because it:
smooths budget
reduces surprise invoices
reduces admin and back-and-forth
A practical approach that prevents 80% of issues
If you want a clean, low-drama grounds arrangement:
Map the common property maintenance areas (simple marked-up plan is enough)
Separate exclusive use areas and decide whether lot owners maintain them individually
Engage on a clear scope + seasonal frequency logic (not vague “gardening”)
Build it into a fixed monthly plan so invoicing is predictable
This is the difference between “reactive mowing” and managed site presentation.
Need a strata grounds scope that won’t create disputes?
Regal Facilities Services provides structured grounds maintenance for strata properties in Brisbane, with:
clear inclusions and exclusions
predictable monthly pricing
consistent presentation standards
If you want a recommended scope for your common property (and clarity on what should be excluded as exclusive use), the fastest step is a brief site walk-through and scope write-up.
