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I have a garage space in the corner of the basement of an old building. It is constructed with a wet wall…. rain and groundwater seep in, down the wall and along a perimerter channel to a pit and pump.
The coaitng of the wall in my area is badly degraded and the water entry is more a cascade than a trickle. To make matters worse water seeps up from under the concrete, and the result is ponding on about half of the floor area of the space.
The strata managers and the Owners Corp acknowledge no liability. They state the building code at the time of construction did not call for garages to be water proof. That may be the case, I have not looked. Nonetheless It sems to me that the seepage of water up through concrete, ponding on the floor surface, and mould and fibre peeling away from the wall is beyond acceptable.
I will get no redress unless I go to the Tribunal, and I don't want to start a fight I cannot win. The garage space is dank and unhealthy, and totally useless for storage.
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I can't determine from your post whether your parking area is a garage or an allocated space within the building's carpark, but it seems that whatever the case, the wet-well is in place to provide drainage collection for the entire basement area.
That being the case, the wet-well and pump is Common Property and the responsibility of the Owners Corporation.
My son had a similar experience with his allocated parking space within the basement carpark of his Unit Block, where alkaline seepage from the ceiling damaged the paintwork of his vehicle, and the Strata Manager went on about basement carparks being wet-areas with no requirement carspaces to be waterproof.
Armed with my advice, including about the absolute requirement for O/C's to properly maintain its Common Property, the O/C's Insurers paid for all repairs to his vehicle. The success of the claim was primarily because the O/C was aware of the seepage problem, and yet did nothing to rectify it.
So make sure that you advise your O/C in writing about the wet-well and the leakage from the wall areas, and that if any damage to your personal property or to yourself (slips/falls) arises as a consequence of that Common Property fault, you will hold the O/C responsible.
That should get them moving!
I believe there is a level of damp that is acceptable for garages/storerooms/basements which are not considered habitable. But cascading water is not “damp”. And even if you were in a townhouse/villa with your own garage attached, should water come up from under the concrete slab, that is the OC responsibility. So would definitely be so in a unit block where both above and below the slab is CP.
Concur with Whale in sending letter to OC stating that you hold them responsible. Send copy to SM. Leave a paper trail.
The recent discussions on Health and Safety, specifically personal liability of managers and EC members if a slip or fall danger has been ignored, should focus their minds too
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