If a unit owner’s dishwasher leak caused damage to the common property metal balustrade below, is the owners corporation responsible for taking action against the owner?
A dishwasher leak in a unit caused damage to the common property metal balustrade below. Is the owners corporation responsible for taking action against the unit owner?
If the owners corporation failed to identify the source of the leak despite repeated complaints, does that affect its ability to apply the benefit principle?
If a common property balustrade is damaged, the owners corporation must arrange repairs and may recover the cost from the responsible lot owner.
Any water ingress caused by a dishwasher leak is the responsibility of the owner/occupier of the relevant lot who has the dishwasher. Effectively, this is a Section 16 Water Act 1989 claim where an unreasonable flow of water has caused another party damage.
If the balustrade is damaged and needs to be repaired and that is common property then the OC will be responsible to take action and have it repaired. The costs of the repair would be sought from the relevant private lot owner/occupier.
In some circumstances, there may be insurance either held by the private lot owner or the OC that may cover the damage.
The benefit principle will not be relevant, as whilst the works will benefit the lot owner who has the balustrade, the actual benefit is to the offending unit because they caused the relevant damage.
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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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