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Topic
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Nearly two months ago a flexible hose connecting my kitchen mixer tap to the mains burst in the middle of the night damaging the carpets and the kitchen cupboard. My contents insurance assessor and the body corporate manager both initially saw the repairs to the cupboard as a Body Corporate issue.
The executive committee has recently met and decided not to authorise the repairs to the cupboard. My insurance company is looking into it but so far has not got back to me. What happens now?
It seems that the executive committee regards the hose in similar light as a hose connecting a dishwasher to the water supply. It is however an original fitting as is the kitchen.
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The flexible hose and kitchen cupboards are not common property, but they are considered as part of the building and so are required to be insured as part of the building by the Owners Corporation. In this case they have been damaged by water caused by a sudden failure of the hose, and therefore in this case an insurance claim should have been lodged by the Owners Corporation on their insurance company.
Hi, i have a question in relation to who repairs water damage in a unit.
We had a water pipe leaking inside a common wall, which penetrated into my unit. Paint bubbling & peeling off the wall, the swelling of skirting boards, and water damage timber floor boards.
Our strata manager has said that they are not responsible to fix the water damage.. either the paint, or the timber flooring, and have suggested i claim this on my contents insurance. Is this correct?.
Strata has repaired the leaking pipe, which was done from my neighbours side, but nothing has been done to my side.
I installed the the timber floor, its solid boards, secret nailed to a plywood substrate, which is in turn fixed to the concrete slab.Your advice is appreciated.
@Davtech said:
Hi, i have a question in relation to who repairs water damage in a unit.We had a water pipe leaking inside a common wall, which penetrated into my unit. Paint bubbling & peeling off the wall, the swelling of skirting boards, and water damage timber floor boards.
I assume you are in NSW and the Strata insurance for NSW excludes wall covering (weird I know) but it would cover the skirting boards. Not sure about timber flooring as generally floor covering (fitted carpets are) are covered by contents policy.
BUT whatever the insurance exclusions the OC is responsible for all the repairs as it was caused by a leaking common pipe which the OC were responsible for and so they have to pick up the bill.
@Phil said:
The executive committee has recently met and decided not to authorise the repairs to the cupboard. My insurance company is looking into it but so far has not got back to me. What happens now?
I agree totally with DaveB it is a Strata insurance responsibility as it is part of the fixture and fitting of the lot. Your contents insurance has no responsibility as it is part of the lot not contents.
Check your insurance Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) available online from their web site and then approach the insurance company direct and see what they say.
Also what sort of cost are we taking about because it could be within the excess (what is the insurance excess) and then the OC would have to pick up the bill form Strata funds.
@Davtech said:
Our strata manager has said that they are not responsible to fix the water damage.. either the paint, or the timber flooring, and have suggested i claim this on my contents insurance. Is this correct?.Strata has repaired the leaking pipe, which was done from my neighbours side, but nothing has been done to my side.
I installed the the timber floor, its solid boards, secret nailed to a plywood substrate, which is in turn fixed to the concrete slab.Paint surfaces are considered within your lot space and are not covered by the owners corporation or their insurers.
As for the timber floor you should have had a special resolution passed at a general meeting allowing you to affix the flooring to common property and an exclusive use by-law registered transferring the obligation of maintenance to you. If this has not occurred then the floor should be reinstated to its original condition at your cost. If this has occurred the maintenance of the floor will be your responsibility, not the owners corporations.
Whether or not the strata insurers will reimburse your costs (less the excess) will depend on who the policy is with and if timber flooring is included (some do, some don’t).
@just get on with it said:
Paint surfaces are considered within your lot space and are not covered by the owners corporation or their insurers.
I agree that for general repairs that is the case but here the failure of a common pipe caused the damage (through no fault of the owner) and as the insurance doesn’t cover this it is up to the Strata to pick up the bill.