There are four main questions in this week’s forum, each of which would deserve a headline of their own.
There’s the owner who has been complaining about damp and mould in her apartment for more than 10 years during which she was fobbed off and ignored by her strata committee.
Finally they sent in a forensic biologist and they said the mould levels were so bad that she had to get out – like, now! Having suffered health issues over the years, she wants to know how to get compensation for being made homeless, having to gut her apartment, replace her furniture and clothes, and for her seriously declining personal health.
Given that a strata scheme’s responsibility for maintaining and repairing common property is virtually limitless, this one could run and run. That’s HERE.
On a happier note, one owner in a block wants to extend his apartment out to the edge of his common property balconies. The strata scheme has no issue with that, but a resident Flatchatter asks if they should also recalculate the unit entitlements since they will effectively own more floor space. That’s HERE.
When an owner lays new tiles on their balcony without permission, let alone a by-law, and then sells out and moves away, and then the balcony starts to leak and it damages the ceiling of the flat downstairs, who is responsible for the repairs?
Is it the old owner, the new owner or the owners corporation – or just tough luck on the downstairs neighbour? That’s HERE.
And finally, an owner in flats in an old house that shares a strata scheme with a more modern block, wants to know if they can “disengage” and start a strata of their own.
The majority of owners are in the newer block, and the old house tends to be the last thought when it comes to repairs and maintenance. Is there such a thing as a strata divorce? That’s HERE.
How to ask and answer questions
Anyone can read our posts at any time, but you must be registered to ask or answer questions. However, there are so many easy ways you can search, access, ask questions and reply to others’ queries once you have registered using the green “register and sign in …” box on this page.
The best way may be to click on “Forum: Your Qs & A’s” on the top menu bar or on the drop-down menu (three lines) on the screen on phones and tablets, under the Strata Choice ad. Then click on the topic title that interests you, and off you go.
Alternatively, you can click on the new “Latest Qs and As” Forum button on the top right of a computer screen or the link on the “hamburger” menu on a phone.
Or look at the list of “Your latest questions and answers” under the ads on the right of the page on a computer screen. Or at the bottom, after the ads and stories, on a tablet or phone.
finally, you can go “old school” and go to the Forum Home Page and work your way through the topics there.
Whichever route you take to get there, the best way to keep up to speed with what’s happening is to register (if you haven’t already done so), then login and subscribe for free to the topics that interest you most. That way you’ll get an alert whenever the discussion moves forward, and you can also chip in with your own comments and questions. Have a look HERE at our instant guide to getting online.