Who is responsible for a burst pipe inside a townhouse wall?

By admin,

I own a townhouse. The water supply pipe that feeds my bathroom is in the wall. The pipe recently failed and caused flooding in the adjacent room and bathroom.

My insurance says the plumber said that the failure of the pipe was caused by corrosion which happened over time and was not a sudden failure. As such it is my maintenance issue and so I am not covered by the strata building insurance.

How can you maintain a pipe in a wall and is my insurance correct in that it is my responsibility to resolve the issue?

Is a kitchen bench a strata fixture in a Class A building?

By admin,

I am the Treasurer of a Class A strata complex. A split developed some time ago in the kitchen bench of an apartment. The kitchen bench was installed by the builder during initial construction of the complex. The owner claims that the repair is an Owners Corporation responsibility. Is a kitchen bench a fixture, and therefore should its maintenance be an Owners Corporation responsibility?

Are Class B townhouse owners responsible for roof and balcony leaks?

By admin,

I live a 10-year-old Class B strata townhouse.

My townhouse has extensive internal damage after roof and balcony leaks causing leaking and mould. Can I claim these repairs on insurance? I have been told the external work is my responsibility to repair also. Is this correct? So far, I have paid over $25,000 to replace the roof and repair the balcony.

My father-in-law lives in NSW and his strata was responsible for works to his shower because it was located on an external wall.

My balcony is above my lounge room, where most of the internal damage has occurred.

Is there a 30-day grace period for strata levies in Canberra?

By admin,

Our strata manager claims that there is a 30 day grace period in Canberra that follows the due date for payment of levies during which time levies don’t have to be paid. They also claim that arrears and penalty interest do not accrue until after the expiration of the grace period. I can’t find any reference to a grace period in the Unit Titles Management Act. On the contrary, it is very clear that levies are due and payable on the due date and that interest accrues if levies are not paid by the due date. Is our strata manager correct?

How can lot owners access strata records and invoices?

By admin,

Strata Titles Act 1988 is very specific regarding the keeping of financial records. However, it appears to be relatively silent regarding storage and lot owner access to records and/or invoices that may tend to give insight into the maintenance and history of the building. How can this situation be remedied?

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