• Read more about Can a patio rebuilt at a lot owner's cost revert to their title in Victoria?
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I have a raised patio outside my apartment. The structure was unsafe, however, the owners corporation refused to repair the patio.

Sick of waiting for them to take action, I built a deck at my cost with their approval. I'm happy with the outcome but can't help but feel the outcome is also at their benefit. They did not have to pay for repairs and they are no longer required to maintain the patio.

Can the patio revert to my title? It's solely for my use, it only leads to my apartment and can't really be used in any other way.

• Read more about What are my rights if a 99-year lease blocks access to my courtyard and was not disclosed at purchase?
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I purchased a strata apartment with a side courtyard on title. This courtyard can only be accessed through a gate leading from, what appeared in my contract and plans of subdivision, common property. The tenants in the upstairs apartment have started parking in the tiny parcel of common property outside my gate, fully blocking access to my courtyard.

I asked the strata manager to confirm this space is common property. They informed me the space had been leased to the upstairs unit on a 99 year lease. This was never disclosed to me at purchase.

• Read more about Can an owners corporation reclaim common property courtyard if no lease or licence records exist?
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For many years a ground floor unit in our scheme has had exclusive use of a fenced courtyard however no one can produce a lease or licence agreement to validate this. The owner does not have a copy and the owners corporation claim their files were destroyed in a flood many years ago and they can't confirm if there was ever a lease or licence agreement.

What happens if the document is lost or destroyed and there is no way of determining what the conditions of the lease or licence agreement were? Can the owners corporation reinstate the courtyard back to common property?

• Read more about Can a 99-year lease of common property granted by a developer to themselves be reversed?
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I purchased off the plan in a new development. About a week before the settlement of initial apartments, while the developer was the owner of all apartments and thus was effectively the Owners Corporation (OC) the OC (who at this stage, was only the developer), for $1, entered into a 99-year lease with the developer covering a number of parts of the common property, including small segments, and the roof.

The lease was approved at a special general meeting of the OC (ie the developer).

• Read more about Does an owners corporation have the right to charge rent on common property a lot owner has been using for years?
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The OC is requesting I pay rent on the common property driveway that leads to my carpark.

No other owner uses this area. The area has been fully enclosed for 9 years with no complaints and it leads to no other properties.

How much rent should l pay for this common ground driveway? Why should I have to pay rent now when I never have before?

• Read more about Shower leak floor damage: Who pays the strata insurance excess and repair costs?
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I am one of the owners of a unit complex of 3 townhouses. Recently, one of the owners had some water damage to her floors caused by water running down the walls from the shower. An inspection showed there was no water proofing membrane installed behind the tiles in her bathroom. She has made a claim with Strata insurance.

Who pays the excess and who should pay for damages? Can you only claim insurance if a building is less than 7 years? Our building is almost 20 years old.