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Hi All,
After some help here please! Maybe skip to the end for the question if you don’t want to read the whole drama 🙂
We purchased our unit in 2010, not long after moving in, there was some massive storms and we flooded. Strata organised to drill some holes in the doors (which was apparently the cause of the problem), obviously this didn’t fit anything.
The water coming into our unit has continued since with a number of incidents. Each time, the EC and Strata identify a different cause for the problem and organise some small fix which never results in the problem getting any better.
Our neighbour has the same problems and has had the same fixes, he loses his tenants at the and of each lease because of the damp and mold that results.
One of the more recent and biggest fixes involved removing the doors and installing flashing, which we have been told by a number of builders since is ineffective because of the materials and way it was done and they recommend a number of (expensive) fixes. After this was done last year, we had water come in again.
Our neighbour took the EC/Strata and builder to mediation and the decision was that the builders were paid for a job and should come back to make recommendations for what else should be done to fix the issue. We allowed them to come back and the answer was, drill another hole. After some back and forth, we allowed this to happen and surprise surprise this didn’t help at all. The owner next door hasn’t allowed them back because he has new tenants and doesn’t want to inconvenience them for something that won’t work.
Last year at the AGM my wife joined the EC in the hope of getting somewhere. It seems that the EC has only had a couple of people on it for a long time and has been badly managed, there is not much in the sinking fund. There have been no regular meetings of the EC, they just email back and forth, mostly with one person being vocal and a bit of a bully. There are some new people on there including my wife but there isn’t much response to emails other than this one guy. We’ve managed to organise an EC meeting for this weekend.
Now… we want to get this repaired once and for all, but this guy on the EC is basically acting like it is our fault for buying the unit, that they have done enough already and that’s it. He says that next door has to have the builders back because it was part of the mediation recommendation, but we have proven that it didn’t work. Neither of them will budge. The EC guy has quoted that this is an issue of ‘Buyer Beware’ a few times and not the EC’s problem. The reason for the flooding is lack of waterproofing with the wall cavities and balcony it seems, which is common property.
Can anyone offer any advice on this or things to look at to counter this “buyer beware” argument?? I would like to be prepared for the meeting this weekend… he is basically going to railroad it and keep repeating the same stuff over and don’t really know how to move forward…
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The simplest response to the “buyer beware” argument is the Owners’ Corporation’s legal obligation to maintain and repair common property which is unlimited and unqualified.
Tell bully boy to get some proper advice before he starts throwing his weight around, especially with his “I’m alright, jack” attitudes. The “buyer Bewrare” applies to hjim – he shpouldn’t have bought into a scheme with defects if he didn’t want to help pay for them.
By the way, agreements made at mediation are not binding or enforceable, unless there is a written and signed contract to that effect. Another fact bully boy needs to be straightened out on.
Basically, if he blocks attempts to have this fixed properly, you need to seek orders at NCAT to force your neighbours to help pay for a proper fix.
I highly recommend SCA-NSW’s online executive committee training course (although it seems to have disappeared off their website for some reason). I will look into that.
Otherwise, contact http://www.ocn.org.au for more advice
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