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SGB advised that:
1. Court is the option because I have no case against the OC which could be heard at NCAT. The implication is that NCAT doesn’t hear claims for the compensation I seek;
2. The law compels the OC to repair that which needs to be repaired and if a loss is sustained by a lot owner due to the OC ignoring its obligation to repair say a leak, then the loss can be claimed by the lot owner from the OC at NCAT. I understood that to mean that there is no mention in the Strata Act allowing me to chase the OC for compensation/damages sustained by me following the OC doing its job;
3. If I win at court, say my entire claim of $18k, I should expect costs awarded to me to be no more than 25% of what I win i.e. $4.5k. So in my mind, the cheaper my legal counsel, the less out of pocket my cost. For instance, legal fees of $7k and I win $16k, the court will possibly award me 25% or $4k, so my out of pocket is $3k. SGB indicated costs of $10-15k. Of course I have no idea what part of that is SGB’s costs and what part is the court process’ costs are;
4. If I want to go after the other lot for my economic loss then the venue is a court.