There are early signs of defects in our 8-year-old building. The builder is insolvent. What are the different dispute resolution options available in case of disputes over building defects, such as mediation, arbitration, or litigation?
I own an apartment on the top floor of the building. I reported a roof leak early in the year. Due to the strata manager's and committee's slow actions, this led to a damaged bathroom ceiling and walls. I don't have extra funds to make repairs. Also, I am not sure the roof problem has been completely fixed. What steps should I take to commence repair of the damaged bathroom?
A leaking pipe damaged our unit. Strata admitted liability. We have a $10,000 quote to repair our floors. This is only a few hundred dollars more than the insurance excess, so the committee agrees to pay for the repairs from the owners corporation's funds.
Can we request the owners corporation pay us directly, or are they within their rights to insist on paying the repairer directly once the work is completed?
Recently, the power cable on the main switchboard came loose and overheated, causing a six hours power outage on the ground level and level 1 units. Multiple affected units reported that a few of their electrical appliances were short-circuited during the incident.
Some reported over $10,000 of damage and some only had minor damage. Is strata responsible for any damage that happened to the units on these two levels?
Our building had water ingress into two apartments from common property. The owners corporation (OC) is lodging a building insurance claim to cover resultant damages. However, the OC has decided not to claim the damaged carpet in one of the apartments. The owner refuses to lodge an insurance claim on their home contents policy, as they are concerned that this will increase future premiums. It will cost the OC several thousand dollars to replace the carpet, adding to already costly remedial works. Is there any action the OC can take?
Who can vote to confirm minutes of a previous AGM for a strata body corporate? No eligible voters were present at our 2020 AGM and at our 2021 AGM there was a motion to pass the minutes.
I do not believe that anyone can vote on this as no-one was present, but I have received the minutes of the 2021 AGM and this motion has been passed.
Regarding closed-door discussions at committee meetings and non-members being asked to leave the room, can an owner challenge this request and stay and listen to the committee’s discussion particularly if that owner had put the request to the committee to have a by-law amended? Also, can the owner request permission to comments on some of this discussion?
Our owners corporation manager has told us we're now using a digital portal. There is no human contact, and all correspondence and notices are accessed through the portal. We also have to accept terms and conditions stating that any errors are the owners responsibility, not the owners corporation manager's. Is this legal?
Our secretary recently sold their apartment but has since been appointed secretary again by proxy from another related lot owner.
Is this legal?
Our owners corporation understands that recovery of levies in arrears must now go to VCAT. We want to know whether recovering the cost of repair work carried out on lot property is treated differently.