Question: Can the chair be negligent and held civilly liable by not taking any action to repair a leak?
In our small strata, most owners are absentee. The committee chair is one of the few residents. The committee’s other members are all absentees but readily contactable.
The chair discovered a major “concealed” water leakage and called in a plumber.
The plumber quoted on repairs but was not instructed to take further action, so the water continued leaking for a considerable time.
The chair did not inform the committee members about the leak or the plumber’s visit.
The other committee members became aware of the problem after the affected lot’s owner received their water bill.
One of the committee members immediately intervened and called the plumber to repair the leak.
By not taking any action, was the chair negligent? Can they be held civilly liable under Section 101a?
Answer: Negligence is a complicated and misunderstood area of law.
Negligence is a complicated and misunderstood area of law. To prove negligence, the following elements need to be made out:
- There was a duty of care;
- The duty of care was breached;
- The breach caused the loss; and
- Actual damages were suffered
Without a complete review of all the relevant circumstances, it is not possible to make a conclusion as to whether the chairperson was negligent in not fixing the water leak.
However, some considerations on the issue would be that:
- The chairperson does not (nor does any other committee member) have the power to authorise a plumber to carry out works. Such a decision can only be made by the committee, a general meeting or an adjudicator in an emergency;
- There are various code of conduct obligations with respect to how committee members ought to act in certain circumstances. Consequences of such breach do not necessarily mean personal liability will accrue; and
- Section 101A of the BCCMA is not just about negligence. There is an element of good faith that cannot be ignored.
This post appears in the June 2025 edition of The QLD Strata Magazine.
Todd Garsden Mahoneys E: tgarsden@mahoneys.com.au P: 07 3007 3753