Forums Common Property Damp from external wall Current Page

#62883
Jimmy-T
Keymaster

    Even if the problem is with the external wall, which is probably common property, the owners corp may invoke section 49 of the Act which says:

    OWNERS CORPORATIONS ACT 2006 – SECT 49

    Cost of repairs, maintenance or other works

    (1)     An owners corporation may recover as a debt the cost of repairs, maintenance or other works carried out wholly or substantially for the benefit of one or some, but not all, of the lots affected by the owners corporation from the lot owners.

    (2)     The amount payable by the lot owners is to be calculated on the basis that the lot owner of the lot that benefits more pays more.

    (3)     The works referred to in this section may be to the common property or a lot.

    Your best bet here may be to argue that while the repairs directly benefit your lot, they would also benefit the building as a whole and therefore the costs should be shared.

    Having said that, there are many elements of Victorian strata law that are a total mystery to me.  Put a call into Consumer Affairs Victoria or talk to a strata lawyer to get a definitive answer.

     

    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.