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We have a person on our Exec Committee that has had an exhaust fan in his bathroom replaced and expects the sinking fund to cover the cost ($600) I would have thought this was the sole responsibility of the owner and definitely not a Strata Issue, any info would be appreciated!
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Doesn’t sound right as the bathroom exhaust fan services one unit and not ‘all’ units. Even if part of the exhaust fan is mounted on the exterior wall of the affected bathroom, it still only services one unit.
If the exhaust fan motor/motors are being replaced and are in the cavity between the bathroom ceiling and the floor of the unit above, it’s ‘within’ the owner’s unit.
The “Who’s Responsible” memorandum, item 2.13(d) (below) says fans mounted in a false ceiling are owners corp responsibility.However, exhaust fans mounted inside the lot are owners responsibility, according to 2.14(d).
2.13 General – OC responsibility
d. Exhaust fans mounted within “Structural cubic space” e.g. communal ducting or a
false ceiling which is designed to carry communal pipes etc or outside the lot.2.14 General – Owners responsibility
d. Exhaust fans inside the lot.If you want to be alerted when anyone replies to your posts or responds to this topic, please register and login, then you will be able to subscribe to the topic. The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers. NB: Longer threads may spill over to additional pages - look for the numbers on the bottom right, under the last post.
It is interesting to read these responses and quite topical for us. What is the position if an owner wants to install an exhaust fan in a bathroom, where there has not been a previous one? It is a ground floor unit in a complex of 24 about 30 Year’s old. Owner wants to install an exhaust fan in a skylight which is in her bathroom. It would be installed in the ‘false ceiling’ of the unit ie the glass at ceiling level of the skylight. Owners are fine with it but who pays? Is it at Owners Corp cost because all bathrooms are supposed to have ventilation? Given that the bathroom has not had installed ventilation For the past 30 Year’s, is it classed as an upgrade and therefore is at owners own cost?