NSW: Who is responsible for water damage from a leaking balcony in a NSW strata building?

Question: Rainwater has penetrated the tiles on a top balcony and entered the unit below. Who is liable for the repairs caused by this situation?

Our 12 unit building in Double Bay NSW was built in 1934.

The rainwater has penetrated the floor tiles of one of the top floor balconies. There is no cover over this balcony and it is open to the weather.

The rainwater has also penetrated through to the ceiling of unit below.

Who is liable for repairs? Is this an owners corporation responsibility or the lot owners of above unit?

Answer: It depends on the boundaries of the lot. This is generally established by the strata plan.

From a maintenance perspective, it depends on the boundaries of the lot. This is established by the strata plan generally. Most strata companies responsibility ceases prior to the waterproofing, therefore it is the lot owners responsibility to maintain and repair the waterproofing/ tiles and grout.

For an insurance claim, if the cause of the water ingress was the failing waterproofing then the owners are responsible to repair the waterproofing, tiling and grout and the policy would pick up the resultant damage. That is of course if it is not an ongoing issue/defect the owners were aware of and did nothing to correct.

In terms of the next steps in addressing the issue it would recommended that a forensic investigation be undertaken to identify the full extent of the underlying cause/s and then a scope of work provided outlining the detail relating to the required remedial repairs needed to resolve the issue, the Owners Corporation can then move to getting like for like quotes for works needed. Sedgwick naturally can assist with providing these services as required.

This post appears in the July 2022 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.

Chantell Kennebury
Sedgwick
P: 08 9210 9103
E: chantell.kennebury@au.sedgwick.com