These Q&As are about what happens when a lot owner damages common property in WA strata properties.
Table of Contents:
- QUESTION: A previous lot owner who no longer owns a property in the strata scheme installed a skylight without permission. If asked to do so, is the new owner liable to reinstate the common property?
- QUESTION: As a WA lot owner, I have been given a $400 bill for alleged damages I caused to the common property driveway. Without proof I caused the damage, do I have to pay?
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Question: A previous lot owner who no longer owns a property in the strata scheme installed a skylight without permission. If asked to do so, is the new owner liable to reinstate the common property and repair any damage?
Answer: In the absence of any more specific information, the answer is yes.
In the absence of any more specific information, the answer is yes.
The general rule is that the lot owner is the party responsible under the by-laws with regard to common property. Once the lot owner has sold his or her lot, he or she has no more responsibilities to the strata company.
However, the previous lot owner should have disclosed to the new lot owner at the time of negotiating the sale that the skylight was installed without authorisation.
Civic Legal
E: aquahe@civiclegal.com.au
P: 08 9200 4900
Disclaimer: This comment contains references to and general summaries of the relevant law and does not constitute legal advice. The law may change and circumstances may differ from reader to reader. Therefore, you should seek legal advice for your specific circumstances.
This post appears in Strata News #466.
Question: As a WA lot owner, I have been given a $400 bill for alleged damages I caused to the common property driveway. Without proof I caused the damage, do I have to pay?
My Strata company, acting on behalf of the council of owners, has recently given me a bill for alleged damage I caused to our shared driveway. I have told them I didn’t cause any damage but they will not respond to me. They do not have any proof I caused the damage and haven’t provided me with an invoice for the repair. I do not want to be stuck with a $400 bill for damages that I did not cause.
Answer: Until an independent body like the SAT or the courts make a finding as to whether you did or did not cause the damage, you and the strata company are in a stalemate.
It is a fundamental legal principle that the party who makes the allegation must prove it.
It seems like the next step is for you as a WA lot owner is to ask the strata company to show you proof that you caused the damages to the common property. It is only fair that they give you some kind of proof.
Until an independent body like the SAT or the courts make a finding as to whether you did or did not cause the damage, you and the strata company are in a stalemate.
Disclaimer: This comment contains references to and general summaries of the relevant law and does not constitute legal advice. The law may change and circumstances may differ from reader to reader. Therefore, you should seek legal advice for your specific circumstances.
Civic Legal
E: aquahe@civiclegal.com.au
P: 08 9200 4900
This post appears in Strata News #463.
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Read next:
WA: Q&A Lot entitlements and exclusive use or special privileges bylaws
WA: Q&A Contributing to Common Property in Your Strata Building
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Hi, I own a unit which had a leak from a common building pipe inside my apartment walkin robe . The strata took a week to resolve the leak which soaked and damaged my floor from the robe to the entire room. There is discolouration around the edges of my hard floor surface. The strata says the floor cannot be repaired because it’s not covered by insurance and that they have no record of the floor changed by previous owners.
Who is responsible for the damage? I have also requested them for inspection of mould beneath the floor as it was soaked for a week and the leak could have been there for longer than it became visible. They have refused. What can I demand from them? I haven’t seen any inspection of common pipes since the last 9 months I have been here.
Hi Lara
The Q&As on this article should assist:
WA: Q&A Seeking Reimbursement for Water Leak Expenses
Putting in a skylight would surely be regarded as an improvement not damage so what is the problem? Skylights are not cheap so I would have thought the owner has added value to the property while also adding light where it was obviously needed. It is getting to the stage where who in their right mind would buy into strata when it appears you cannot make improvements to your so called home without someone finding fault.
Hi, the issue in my block is that the roof is common property. Owners think they can do what they like, damage the roof, use dodgy tradesmen and we end with with the damage. One owner installed a skylight without permission, moved out, the skylight was poorly installed and got sucked out by high winds. We paid for it. Owners also use their tradesmen to alter common property and they have caused damaged, but the owner will not accept it. One woman altered common property, billed us over $2,000 and her tradesmen has caused $7,000 of damage to common property. 6 years later and everyone is still arguing and the property has not been repaired.
We have owners who do what they want and we foot the bill and inconvenience. Asking new owners to do anything, gets them offside. The issue with strata is that some people won’t follow rules, seek permission first and use compliant tradespeople and provided certificates for works and then accept responsibility, even if they are still living in the property. To me, it’s really simple, living in strata, you don’t own past the median of your walls and floor.
“The issue with strata is that some people won’t follow rules, seek permission first.”
This is a major issue Australia wide.
Legislated strata laws and penalties are a joke and that’s why some strata owners/ occupants keep doing unlawful changes to common property without following the protocol as legislated. And, it occurs so often one is surprised that it’s not declared as systemic abuse.
If the legislation declared that changes to strata common property without written conditional approval from the Owners Corporation will be prosecuted as trespass and criminal vandalism, then we might see strata owners/ tennant occupants follow the rules with greater respect and without the blatant contempt we read about every day.
Regarding roofs as common property, the statement “If the boundaries of the lot are external to the building, then the roof is part of the lot” is not true in all instances, my unit being a case in point under Section 3(2)(b)). Boundaries are best determined by a specialist if the strata plan is unclear or not understood as small differences in plan wording can make a big difference.
This article does raises a key point about who is responsible for repairs and damage where owner items (solar panels, sky lights, air conditioners, etc) intrude into common property, or the Strata Company attempts to causes a lot owner to be responsible for common property maintenance (such as parts of the common property roof). I would like to hear a legal opinion on this.
Hi Adrian
Thanks for your comment. To alleviate any confusion, we have removed the question you are referring to.
If it was a lot owner who no longer owns a property in the strata scheme that was the one that installed the skylight without permission, is the new owner liable to reinstate the common property if asked to do so?
Hi David
Civic Legal has responded to your comment in the above article.
Thank you