Question: Common property trees cause damage to our pipes. We need to reline the pipes. Should the body corporate pay?
We live on a corner block in a lifestyle estate on the Gold Coast. The trees on the common grounds affect the plumbing pipes under our house. We get plumbers to clear the roots yearly, but they keep growing. The ongoing maintenance of the pipes is costly. The plumber has reported that the pipes now need to be relined. Should the body corporate pay for the rectification?
Answer: This may depend on the amount of evidence you have.
You can certainly request that the body corporate pay for rectification. Whether they agree to that or are obligated to pay may be a different question.
Getting to the stage where payment is agreed upon may depend on the evidence you have available. As a starting point, you should have the invoices from your plumber stating that the roots have been cleared and a quote saying the pipes need to be relined. Perhaps these also identify the tree or trees causing a problem. If not, you could go back to the plumber for clarification. Perhaps you could submit photo evidence or arrange for an onsite meeting with the committee to review.
As an owner, you have a right to submit motions to the committee or a general meeting so you can arrange a quote for removing the tree or trees and the relining of the pipes and submit these for approval. If owners vote in your favour, the matter can be resolved. If not, you can also seek legal assistance via the Commissioner’s office or QCAT.
Legally, a tree is regarded as affecting you if, in the next 12 months, it is likely to:
- seriously injure anyone on your land
- seriously damage your land or any of your property
- unreasonably get in the way of your use and enjoyment of your land (for example, if the tree drops branches into your yard and you can’t use that area for fear of being hurt).
If the tree is likely to damage your pipes, it would seem you at least have the start point of a claim. Maybe point this out to the body corporate and say you would rather reach an amicable conclusion on that basis.
Think too that if there is an agreement to make payment from the body corporate, it may well be a compromise. Be prepared to meet the body corporate in the middle and see what happens.
See the Queensland Government website for more on tree disputes: What to do if a neighbour’s tree is affecting you.
William Marquand Tower Body Corporate E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au P: 07 5609 4924