If repairs are needed in our lot due to water ingress from above, is it the responsibility of whoever owns the upstairs lot? If the ingress is partly due to the age of the building, who is liable?
In this video, 'VIC: Water Act Claims and Building Defects in Owners Corporations | LookUpStrata', the concrete slabs are treated as common property. I live in a building with an old strata plan. The concrete slabs are not common property. They are solid slabs with no pipes or wiring. The lot owner owns the bottom half of the concrete slab. However, it forms part of the structure of the building. I need some clarification.
If repairs are needed due to water ingress from above, is it the responsibility of whoever owns the upstairs lot? If it's discovered that the ingress is partly due to the age of the building, who is liable? Is it the lot owner or the owners corporation?
Generally, the person responsible is the owner of the land that has the defect.
The position of legal boundaries will be different for each plan of subdivision. In some cases, the slab will be wholly within common property, sometimes, it will be a median boundary and sometimes wholly private lot property.
In order to ascertain which applies to your development, a careful reading of the plan of subdivision is required.
Generally, if there is a defect to one's property (whether it is an original building defect, a defect due to age or a defect due to a failure to properly repair and maintain), generally, the person responsible is the owner of the land that has the defect. Sometimes, liability can be passed to the builder (or other parties) if it is an original building defect, subject to certain limitation periods.
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Phillip Leaman specialises in Owners Corporations law, adverse possession and compulsory acquisition and is the Principal for the Owners Corporation team at Tisher Liner FC Law. Phillip provides practical and strategic advice to Owners Corporations in respect to all types of disputes concerning the Owners Corporations Act 2006, defect claims arising from original building works under the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 and disputes between lot owners, contractors and managers. He also assists Owners Corporations in governance and other property law advice required such as interpreting plans of subdivisions, leasing and licensing, adverse possession and dealing with managers and contractors. He acts for Owners Corporations in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. Phillip Leaman has been recognised on the Best Lawyers List between 2019 to 2022 in the category of Real Property Law. For information useful to Owners Corporations see our website at: https://tlfc.com.au/expertise/owners-corporation/
Phillip is a regular contributor to LookUpStrata.
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