Question: If strata are liable for damage to floors caused by a leak, can we demand direct payment for repairs, or must they pay the repairer?
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?
Answer: It should make no difference whether you are paid or if the owners corporation pays the contractor directly.
You are entitled to your reasonably foreseeable loss you have suffered due to the owners corporation’s failure to repair and maintain the common property in accordance with section 106(5) of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015.
It is a matter for negotiation on who pays, remembering that you are only entitled to recover your actual loss. It should make no difference whether you are paid from the owners corporation’s funds and then pay the contractor, or if the owners corporation pays the contractor directly on your behalf.
This post appears in theApril 2025 edition of The NSW Strata Magazine.
Matthew Jenkins
Bannermans Lawyers
E: enquiries@bannermans.com.au
P: 02 9929 0226
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