This article discusses what lot owners can do to escalate a delayed building defect when a balcony leak or other common property issue is being ignored.
Question: How can I get an ongoing balcony leak properly investigated and repaired when the building manager keeps delaying?
Since we bought our apartment in 2022, water has been dripping down our balcony wall from the unit above, possibly due to concrete cancer. We have raised this with the building manager several times, but the response has been that they will “deal with it one day”. How can we get this issue properly investigated and actioned?
Answer: The lot owner has a right to enforce an action in NCAT if the defect is affecting their own property.
The building manager is an employee of the owners corporation. The owners corporation needs to deal with the issue. If it’s dripping from one unit to another, then it is a common property defect. If it’s coming from one unit into another, that’s a common property defect. Water ingress is, generally, a major defect. It needs to be rectified.
Whether or not the building manager says he’ll deal with it one day, it needs to be actioned. Under section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015, the owners corporation has to maintain and repair. An individual owner can raise this matter at a meeting of the owners corporation. You should raise this with the committee. You can do this through your managing agent. Ignore the building manager if he ignores you.
The lot owner also has a right to enforce an action in NCAT if the defect is affecting their own property. If their unit is unlivable, you have the right to take action against the owners corporation for failing to rectify the common property.
Duncan Campbell
Bannermans Lawyers
E: enquiries@bannermans.com.au
P: 02 9929 0226
This post appears in Strata News #772.
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Read next:
- NSW: Q&A Renovations, Design or Building Works to Strata Buildings
- NAT: Early detection of strata building defects. It’s time to abandon the Whack A Mole approach
- NSW: Q&A Common Property Defects and Reimbursement for Repairs
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