Question:
In a NSW 2 storey strata block of 8 lots, a common property drainage pipe corroded and leaked flooding a ground floor unit damaging kitchen fittings and vinyl floor covering and living room carpet.
Our insurance would cover the kitchen damage but not the living room carpet.
The owner claimed that since damage to the carpet was caused by a fault in owners corporation property, the owners corporation was liable to make good the damage. He proposed a very reasonable solution that included replacing the carpet with hybrid flooring.
The strata manager vehemently advised that this was not common practice and that accepting the proposal would establish a very dangerous precedent. The 2 committee members who had to decide whether to accept were split evenly, one accepting the owner’s claim about libility, the other unwilling to go ahead against the strata manager’s advice.
Was the strata manager’s advice valid? Was the owners corporation still liable for the carpet damage?

Flat Chatbot Reply:
The strata manager’s statements that this was “not common practice” and would set a “dangerous precedent” are opinions, not a determination of the owners corporation’s legal responsibility. Flat Chat notes that the owners corporation is responsible for common-property maintenance, while decisions are made by the owners corporation or its committee—not the strata manager alone.
Strata basics – who does what, when and why? – FLAT CHAT

For the carpet, NSW guidance distinguishes an owner’s usual responsibility for carpet inside their lot from water damage coming from common property. It says an owner may take legal action for loss if the owners corporation failed to meet its repair-and-maintenance duty; the leak’s source alone doesn’t settle whether that duty was breached or what compensation is due. So the owner may have a claim, but liability isn’t automatic on the facts given. Nor do these sources establish an automatic right to upgrade carpet to hybrid flooring.
Strata repairs and maintenance | NSW Government

The current NSW guidance allows six years to bring a damages claim after becoming aware of the loss. For the proposed flooring and the committee deadlock, get advice from a specialist strata lawyer or NSW Fair Trading before deciding.
Guide to strata law changes for strata committees and owners | NSW Government

Sources: Flat Chat: Strata basics · NSW Government: Repairs and maintenance · NSW strata law changes

General information only, not legal advice.

My assessment:

This is a good response although there is no clear answer but I think that is in the nature of the problem. Our building is about 75 years old and the drainage pipes are those old cast iron pipes that were everywhere at the time of building. Estimates of their life range from 50 to 100 years. So when this 1 pipe failed we considered whether we should look at replacing  the other 11 as a precautionary measure. The plumber we contracted to fix the corroded pipe provided a quote for that replacement but advised that standard practice was to wait until each pipe failed. In that case, had the OC failed to meet its repair-and-maintenance duty? I guess it can only be tested in law but in our small block of mostly resident owners, no one had the inclination of money to pursue that.