Question: A garage door upgrade was completed in 2022, but the contractor, also a lot owner, has not provided a tax invoice or system control. How do we resolve this?
Our strata apartment complex upgraded the garage door remote system in 2022, and the committee is happy with the work.
Frustratingly, after numerous communications, face-to-face discussions, and a formal letter from the body corporate manager, the contractor has not submitted a tax invoice. There is also confusion around the final quotation costs for the upgrade. The contractor, who is also a lot owner, has not handed over control of the FOB code or the procedural login details for the management of the upgraded system.
The worst-case scenario is that the contractor could disable the garage door ingress/egress procedure.
At what stage of the project management process does the body corporate take ownership of the garage door material assets?
Can the committee make an act of grace payment to the contractor based on researched costings for similar equipment plus labour?
Does the contractor’s behaviour constitute a by-law breach?
Answer: Accept that the situation is imperfect and find the most direct path to resolution.
It’s unusual for the matter to go on for so many years. Handover of systems like this is usually after the installation and receipt of the payment.
The matter has become complicated because the contractor was a lot owner and perhaps because clear quotes and contracts weren’t established.
That’s unusual, but I wouldn’t waste too much time thinking about what you could or should have done if it doesn’t bring you to a resolution now.
At this stage, it sounds like you have three options:
- Pay the current contractor a mutually agreed cost and complete the handover.
- Go through a legal process with the current contractor to have details of the system handed over and/or costs agreed upon.
- Pay an alternative contractor to override the current system and let the current contractor take action against the body corporate if they want to.
We don’t know the costs here, but you may need to look at the amounts in question and make a commercial decision based on which has the lowest cost for the lowest risk. Accept that the situation is imperfect and find the most direct path to resolution.
For your questions:
Making an act of grace payment to the contractor based on researched costings for similar equipment plus labour sounds reasonable, and it may be the simplest pathway to closing the situation.
The contractor’s behaviour possibly constitutes a by-law breach. You need to determine what by-law and in what way by reviewing your by-laws. It may also be a breach of contract issue. It’s hard to say, but if you want to pursue this angle, have a lawyer review and advise.
William Marquand
Tower Body Corporate
E: willmarquand@towerbodycorporate.com.au
P: 07 5609 4924
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