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In our townhouse complex the HWS leaked badly and is located under the stairwell of the townhouse. There was no provision from the original build of the complex to allow water to escape, therefore the stairs in the townhouse especially the bottom stair has collapsed and has become a safety tripping situation
I have had a carpenter quote for the repair of the stairs and sent the quotation to the Strata Manager with the plumbers’ invoice stating that the HWS has been replaced
The committee are obviously not interested in repairing the stairs, numerous emails result in no response from the Strata Manager only that he has forwarded the emails
The Strata Insurance company has advised that the cost of the repair is under the claimable excess of $1000 how can I proceed to remedy this issue
Our contents insurer have approved to replace the stairwell carpet but we cannot proceed util the repairs are completed
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The Strata Insurance company has advised that the cost of the repair is under the claimable excess of $1000 how can I proceed to remedy this issue?
This is one of the great misconceptions of strata. Assuming the stairs are common property, just because the OC isn’t fully covered by insurance, doesn’t mean they’re not liable.
This is about liability, not insurance cover and if the cover is inadequate, the person who persuaded the owners corp to have such a hefty excess, might want to ask if it was such a good idea to go for the cheaper option.
Even so, what the OC saved in premiums will more than compensate for what they’ll ahve to pay when you bill them for the stair repairs.
By the way, if the strata manager has forwarded the emails and the committee isn’t doing anything, it’s not his or her fault. The committee instructs the strata manager, not the other way round.
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