Question: My balcony doors & shutters were damaged in strong winds 7 months ago, but nothing has been done. Is this considered acceptable to wait for an Insurance company before any repairs are carried out when it could be dangerous?
I own a Strata apartment in Sydney which was built in 2013. My apartment is on the top floor (level 4) and balcony doors & shutters were damaged in strong winds back in February 2020. The sliding balcony doors, although very heavy, were pushed inwards off their track in the wind and were jammed shut. Nothing has been done to secure these doors and I get very frightened every time we have strong winds.
I have contacted Strata Management and the Committee various times as I am frightened that if wind can push them half off inwards, there is no guarantee they won’t be pushed the whole way in next time. All I get told is it is part of an insurance claim and nothing will be done until that is finalised.
I did ring the Insurance company myself about 3 weeks ago and was told the claim was approved but it seems some things may not have been although no one has told me if that has anything to do with me.
I am thinking of putting in a complaint to NSW Fair Trading as it over 6 months and I am frightened for my safety and any further damage to inside my apartment. I don’t mind waiting for the shutter to be put back up but I think the door should have been fixed straight away.
Is this considered acceptable to wait for an Insurance company before any repairs are carried out when it could be dangerous?
Answer: The delay is quite unreasonable, however, you have an obligation to mitigate your losses.
Leanne Habib, Premium Strata:
It is likely that the subject sliding doors are common property (subject to any notations on the strata plan or any by-laws to the contrary) and therefore the responsibility of the Owners Corporation, and, in this case, its insurer.
The delay is quite unreasonable, however, you have an obligation to mitigate your losses. In other words, you should notify the Owners Corporation in writing, that you will carry out the required repairs, at the Owners Corporation’s expense, if they do not do so by a certain date. If they do not carry out the works within the stipulated time frame, then we would recommend you temporarily secure (rather than carry out permanent repairs or replacement, if possible) the doors and remit the invoice to the Owners Corporation for payment.
Lodgement of an insurance claim does not relieve the Owners Corporation of its strict liability to repair and maintain the common property.
Leanne Habib Premium Strata E: info@premiumstrata.com.au P: 02 9281 6440
Tyrone Shandiman, Strata Insurance Solutions:
Most insurance policies have conditions which require you to take all necessary steps to minimise and/or stop any further loss or damage from occurring and maintain your duty of care to others by taking reasonable actions to address safety concerns. The question of what is reasonable is subjective and can differ from person to person.
If a safety hazard exists until an insurer indemnifies costs for a claim, the party that has responsibility to maintain the balcony doors should take action to address this safety hazard. In this instance and given the insurance claim is taking so long, it might include conducting repairs prior to the insurance claim being finalised. The act of repairing damage generally will not affect whether the insurer accepts the claim, however if during assessment the insurer deems the damage not covered, the party who has responsibility to maintain the balcony doors will be responsible for costs associated with those repairs. If you are repairing prior the claim being settled, we recommend you ask the repairer documents their view on the cause of the damage.
If the owners corporation are responsible for the balcony doors Section 106 (1) of Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 states An owners corporation for a strata scheme must properly maintain and keep in a state of good and serviceable repair the common property and any personal property vested in the owners corporation.
Tyrone Shandiman Strata Insurance Solutions E: tshandiman@iaa.net.au T: 07 3899 5129
This information is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances and the specific coverage afforded under their policy wording. Shandit Pty Ltd T/As Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisernet Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.