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QUESTION: I own and let a ground floor unit that had a leak in a hot water pipe in the backyard. The rental manager arranged for a plumber and we got the leak fixed.
It was a common property issue but the strata manager refused to pay for the repairs then, four months later, agreed to pay half.
I decided that chasing the rest would be futile but I have now been told the tenant wants reimbursement for the additional electricity costs incurred while the hot water pipe was leaking. Where do I stand? Can I claim reimbursement from the strata manager? – Chesa, via Forum.
ANSWER: Why would the strata manager pay only half the plumbing bill, unless it was because you hired a plumber without first getting his OK. Even then, that’s only fair if the bill was twice what it should have been.
On the cost of the electricity, you’ll need an objective assessment of how much extra was paid by the tenant before you can claim anything.
This sounds like a perfect case for mediation between you and the tenant then the strata manager. Community Justice Centres (cjc.nsw.gov.au) offer this service for free.
You’ll find the original (unedited) question and a flood of answers HERE.
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Jimmy T is correct, the Strata Manager probably refused to pay at all in the first instance because your Property Manager simply arranged for the repairs and then sent him/her the Contractor's Account, which based on my past experiences was probably made out to the Property Management Company and not to the Strata Plan.
By the way that really does annoy me, and to the extent that I flat-out refuse to pay any Third-Party Invoices that generate in this way!
Additionally, whilst it seems odd that the hotwater supply from your Unit's heater was in the backyard (Common Property?), if it was indeed the supply pipe from the heater (i.e. hot water), and that heater services only your Unit, then the entire cost of the repair was your responsibility anyway.
So far as the electricity use is concerned, if the heater is on the off-peak supply there will be a separate meter and corresponding charge on the Account. All you need to do is obtain the “same time last year” average from that Account, and reimburse you tenant for anything additional during the quarter when your Unit's hotwater supply pipe was leaking.