Pests in apartment buildings: what the body corporate is responsible for
In a unit title building, who deals with a pest problem depends on where the pests are and what they affect. This guide sets out the split under the Unit Titles Act 2010 and how committees can make it work in practice.
Checked against the legislation on 6 October 2026
Who is responsible for pest control in an apartment building?
Responsibility follows the boundaries on the unit plan. The body corporate looks after common property and the building elements and infrastructure that serve more than one unit, so pests in shared areas and shared fabric are usually its concern. Each owner looks after their own unit. In a rented unit, tenancy law divides the job between landlord and tenant. The Unit Titles Act 2010 does not mention pests by name.
How a building-wide programme is usually arranged is covered in pest control for body corporates. The sections below set out the legal footing for each part of the split.
What does s 138 of the Unit Titles Act require?
Section 138 requires the body corporate to repair and maintain the common property, assets used with it or owned by the body corporate, and any building elements and infrastructure that relate to or serve more than one unit. Under s 138(5)(c) the duty includes managing, keeping in a good state of repair, and renewing where necessary. Pest control is not named, but pest damage to shared fabric plainly engages it.
- Common property is the land and fixtures in the development that are not inside a principal, accessory or future development unit: lobbies, corridors, shared stairs and, often, bin rooms.
- Building elements include the roof, balconies, cladding, foundations and supporting walls, and other parts needed for structural integrity, exterior appearance or occupants' health and safety.
- Infrastructure includes pipes, ducts, cables, gutters and drainage, and equipment for services such as rubbish collection, where it serves a unit or the common property.
Routine pest control in shared areas protects the property the body corporate must maintain, which is why it is normally arranged and funded by the body corporate rather than by individual owners.
Can the body corporate enter a unit to deal with pests?
Yes, for work it is responsible for. Section 138(3) allows the body corporate to access any unit at all reasonable hours to carry out its repairs and maintenance. Section 80(1)(a) requires owners to allow entry at any time in an emergency, and otherwise at reasonable hours after reasonable notice, including to maintain shared infrastructure and building elements that affect more than one unit.
Two further provisions shape who pays. Under s 138(4), costs the body corporate incurs repairing or maintaining building elements and infrastructure contained in a principal unit can be recovered from that unit's owner as a debt. Under s 80(1)(g), each owner must keep their unit in good order so that no damage or harm is caused to the common property, building elements, infrastructure or other units. How either applies to a particular infestation is a legal question; take advice before recovering costs.
Who deals with pests in the bin room, car park, roof space or one unit?
Start with the unit plan, then ask what the pests are affecting. Shared areas and shared fabric point to the body corporate; the inside of one unit points to its owner. The table gives a practical starting position for common situations, not a legal ruling: the unit plan, the building's operational rules and the cause of the problem can change the answer.
A practical starting position for common situations
| Location | Usual position | Why | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bin room or rubbish enclosure | Body corporate | Usually common property, s 138(1)(a) | The default operational rules bar owners and occupiers from leaving rubbish on common property and require it to be disposed of hygienically; check your building's own rules |
| Basement car park | Body corporate for shared areas; the owner where a space is an accessory unit | Car parks can be common property or accessory units on the unit plan | Rodents in driveways, plant rooms and stairwells are a common property matter either way |
| Roof space and ceiling voids over several units | Body corporate | The roof is a building element, and voids carry shared infrastructure, s 138(1)(d) | Ship rats travel along voids and cable routes between units |
| Service risers, ducts, rubbish chutes | Body corporate | Infrastructure serving more than one unit | Insects and rodents move between floors along risers |
| Facade ledges with roosting pigeons | Body corporate | Cladding and exterior features are building elements | Bird work deals only with unprotected introduced species such as feral pigeons (Wildlife Act 1953, Schedule 5) |
| The kitchen of a single unit | The unit owner, or landlord and tenant if rented | Inside the principal unit; owner's duty under s 80(1)(g) | If the source is in shared fabric, the body corporate's duty is engaged |
Shared-area rodent work is described in commercial rodent control.
What changes when the unit is rented?
Inside a rented unit, residential tenancy law decides between landlord and tenant. Tenancy Services states that the landlord must provide the property free of pests at the start of the tenancy and maintain it, including gaps and holes that let pests in. The tenant must keep the property in a condition that does not encourage pests and report signs to the landlord straight away.
If the tenant's lack of cleanliness caused the infestation, the Tenancy Tribunal can order the tenant to pay. Where pests appear mid-tenancy with no clear cause, Tenancy Services notes that landlords and tenants often agree to split the cost. The body corporate is outside that arrangement unless the source is in common property or shared fabric. Property managers handling several units can find more in pest control for property managers.
What should a body corporate committee minute about pests?
Minute enough that a later committee, an owner or an insurer can see what was known, what was decided and why. That means the report or complaint that raised the issue, where the problem is and whose responsibility the committee considers it to be, what work was approved and at what cost, any notice given to owners for access, and when the matter will be reviewed.
- Approval of any building-wide programme: its scope, visit frequency and reporting.
- Service reports received, and recommendations accepted, deferred or declined.
- Notices issued to owners for access under s 80(1)(a), and any refusals.
- Decisions on cost recovery under s 138(4), with the advice relied on.
- Reminders to owners and occupiers about rubbish and the operational rules.
If a body corporate manager is engaged, what it does depends on its own agreement with the body corporate, so check that agreement before assuming it will arrange or monitor pest work.
This guide is general information, checked against the Unit Titles Act 2010 (version as at 10 July 2026), the Unit Titles Regulations 2011 and Tenancy Services guidance on 6 October 2026. It is not legal advice; the legislation, your unit plan and your operational rules govern.
Questions facility managers ask
Does the body corporate have to deal with pests inside my unit?
Not usually. The inside of a principal unit is the owner's responsibility, and s 80(1)(g) requires owners to keep their unit in good order. The body corporate becomes involved when the pests are coming from common property or from building elements or infrastructure that serve more than one unit, because s 138 makes those its responsibility.
Can the body corporate charge an owner for pest work?
In some cases. Section 138(4) allows the body corporate to recover from a unit owner the cost of repairing or maintaining building elements and infrastructure contained in that owner's principal unit. Routine pest control in shared areas is normally a body corporate cost funded through levies. Whether a specific charge is recoverable is a legal question worth advice before an invoice is issued.
Do the food rules apply to an apartment building?
Not to residents. The Food Regulations 2015 apply to food businesses. A café or restaurant on the ground floor of a mixed-use building has its own pest duties under reg 18, separate from the body corporate's duties under s 138, and the two programmes work best when they share information about activity at their common boundary.
Where are body corporate disputes about pests decided?
Section 171 of the Unit Titles Act 2010 gives the Tenancy Tribunal jurisdiction over most disputes about a unit title development, including disputes between owners and the body corporate. Disputes between a landlord and a tenant about pests inside a rented unit also go to the Tenancy Tribunal, under tenancy law.
Related pages
Sources
- Unit Titles Act 2010, ss 5, 80, 138 and 171 (version as at 10 July 2026)
- Unit Titles Regulations 2011, Schedule 1 default operational rules (version as at 9 May 2024)
- Tenancy Services, "Pests and infestations"
Request a site audit. A site audit of the common property records entry points, shared voids and waste areas, and the written scope separates body corporate work from unit work.