Dear Flat Chat

This is a bizarre situation. We have an investment apartment in a 12 storey apartment building. The concrete roof is covered in a tar membrane, on top of which are river stones – presumably to protect the membrane and reduce the heat transfer. Crows are picking up the stones and attempting to fly away with them.  Some stones are falling ten levels onto our apartment balcony which projects out some metres beyond the building façade.

The stones are smashing plate glass windows and even the sun roofs of cars in the street. The tenants fear for the safety of their young child. The issue has been taken up with the strata managers and the Executive Committee for some three years but they keep stalling. They claim we cannot prove the crows are picking up the stones from our building – “it may be a neighbouring building”. Further, they keep saying that it may cost too much and they need legal and engineering advice concerning the installation of nylon netting over the stones, etc,etc. But nothing happens.

The insurance company is happy to pay out a few thousand dollars per year to replace the plate glass windows and doors but they are still well ahead with their  $60,000[+] premium. Their policy states that a safety audit must be conducted each year. Clearly this is not occurring.–yet they simply continue to pay out claims for damage to the building and ignore the indisputable injury risk. Fair Trading suggests “mediation”. Risk of injury is here and now. Does some-one have to be killed or injured before something is done? 

[More falling stones stories HERE – JT]