Question: Our building’s reticulation floods our storage locker twice a week and has destroyed many of our belongings. Is the strata company required to fix this, and can we claim compensation?
Twice a week, our apartment building’s reticulation system floods our storage locker. Several of our items have been destroyed, including two large rugs, a baby car seat, a high chair, a wooden bed head and an electric bicycle. The storage area is now infested with mould, and anything we store in there is ruined in weeks.
Is the strata company required to fix this? Do we have grounds to claim for compensation?
Answer: If the reticulation forms part of the common property, the strata company is generally responsible for fixing it, but compensation for damaged belongings is not automatic.
If the flooding is being caused by the strata company’s reticulation system, the strata company should investigate the cause and take reasonable steps to rectify the problem. If the reticulation forms part of the common property or common services, the strata company is generally responsible for maintaining and repairing it.
Whether you are entitled to compensation for your damaged belongings is a separate question and will depend on the circumstances.
If the damage resulted from the strata company failing to properly maintain the common property or from negligence, you may have grounds to seek compensation for your losses. However, compensation is not automatic simply because the damage occurred on common property. Liability will depend on the facts, including whether the strata company knew, or ought reasonably to have known, about the problem and whether it took reasonable steps to address it.
You should notify the strata company or strata manager in writing as soon as possible, provide photographs and details of the damage, and request that the flooding be investigated and rectified. If you have contents insurance, you should also notify your insurer, as your contents policy may respond to the loss.
This information is of a general nature only and neither represents nor is intended to be personal advice on any particular matter. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions strongly suggests that no person should act specifically on the basis of the information in this document, but should obtain appropriate professional advice based on their own personal circumstances and the specific coverage afforded under their policy wording. Shandit Pty Ltd T/as Strata Insurance Solutions is a Corporate Authorised Representative (No. 404246) of Insurance Advisernet Australia AFSL No 240549, ABN 15 003 886 687.
This post appears in the October 2026 edition of The WA Strata Magazine.
Tyrone Shandiman
Strata Insurance Solutions
E: tshandiman@iaa.net.au
P: 1300 554 165
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