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[Anele50]

Hi, I’m in NSW and about to submit a mediation request to Fair Trading for not undertaking repairs.

My building is 10 years old and we are currently getting defects work done under the insurer but a major defect, excessive movement in my structural wall which was evident at least 6 years ago, didn’t make the final defects list and isn’t being repaired by the insurer.

That’s concerning enough but the reality is now the OC have to repair it at their expense and the engineer and chairperson are stalling and have told me it will be looked at when the other work is done (none of it related to this wall) and the OC see how much money they have.

This is unacceptable as i have a lot of damage being caused (water damage, flooding garage, buckling and cracked floor tiles and other things i suspect are from the movement).

My question is, what is a reasonable timeframe to request this work to start when it is so complex and expensive? are there any legitimate reasons for them to wait?

I am the only one affected by this wall and it is very distressing. i think i need to be specific with what i request from mediation and while i want to make sure i’m 100% prepared to force them to do what needs to be done but don’t want to appear unreasonable. 

They have acknowledged the defect but i suspect they just want to avoid spending the money. i also think the engineer is taking the chairperson for a bit if a ride and prolonging his tenure by dragging everything out and getting paid by the month.

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[Jimmy-T]

The Act sets a limit of two months for the OC to respond to requests for action – and that includes saying no or saying nothing.

The Act simply says that the OC must maintain and repair common property and various legal rulings have established that this can’t be delayed by secondary issues such as having to wait for the outcome of a related court case (like suing the developer over defects).

The OC needs to establish a reasonable  and realistic program for doing the work and finding the money to pay for it.  Otherwise you can seek orders at NCAT compelling them to do so.  This should be made clear to them at mediation  which is an important step towards doing that. 

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[Anele50]

Thanks Jimmy. My request for mediation was rejected with the EC stating they will address all my issues after remedial works have finished. these works have already taken years and remain unfinished with no deadline as yet. i was a bit put off by the mediator who almost gave me the impression she thought it was reasonable for me to wait.  how can i find any of the previous rulings you refer to about delaying repairs due to secondary issues? are they publicly available? if i find them should i use them as part of my submission to NCAT as precedent? or would it imply i didn’t think the adjudicator knew how to do their job?

thanks

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