We have found rats in our backyard. Can our owners corporation help us with this? – Fung Ming, NSW

Q: We have found rats in our backyard. Can our owners corporation help us with this?

A: If the backyard is attached to your lot, and defined in the strata plan as your lot, it is usually your responsibility to maintain the backyard as you are the owner. That means any pest control within this backyard will be your responsibility.

However, if there are rats across the majority of backyards and the common property, it would be most effective to treat all areas of the common property, courtyards, backyards, etc. An owners corporation may decide to undertake pest control measures across a strata plan, including common property areas and backyards to effectively control the pests. You may want to put in a request with your strata committee to consider this if it’s a wider issue.