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[karac]

My first post, please keep that in mind….

I am ‘President” of OC. Trying to be low key… not always successful in that.

Property is in NSW.

Ok here is the issue. Our townhouses are 26 years old. There are 5 buildings. 4 x pairs of townhouse plus 1 x free standing cottage.

One of the townhouse has a waterproof failure. Water is leaking from an ensuite to kitchen below. This ensuite is NOT on a common wall nor does it affect any other townhouse or anything nearby. Wholly self contained.

We have made an insurance claim, which was denied for two reasons. First lack of maintenance on the waterproofing(???) and secondly that a re grouting repair made 4.5 years ago may be a contributing factor to the further demise of the membrane.

Here is the question… Is the Owners’ Corporation responsible for waterproofing after 25 years?

First in paying for the repair(s)?

Or ensuring the lot owner repairs the membrane to a satisfactory standard?

Our Strata manager is adamant the OC is responsible financially. To repair the waterproofing properly, really does mean renovating the bathroom.

To date, I have been unable to find anything that differentiates between flats/units and townhouses. Obviously in a multistorey apartment block, a failure affects units below and nearby.

Any ideas on where to confirm one way or the other>

PS the other option that may be available is the appropriate Insurance Ombudsman/Tribunal. That is also an option we are considering.

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[ruben]

I am the secretary of an OC. As I understand it, the OC is responsible for waterproofing UNLESS it is damaged in any way by a resident/owner, who is then liable for its repair. In this case, I would want clarity on exactly where the leak is coming from, before doing anything else. Is it certain that the leak that is evident in the kitchen is coming from the ensuite above? If yes, then where in the ensuite is the leak coming from? If it is the area where there was a grouting repair 4.5 years ago, is there evidence that that grouting repair damaged the waterproofing? If yes, then the owner of the townhouse is liable for the repair of the waterproofing since that owner would have been responsible for the repair of the grouting.  A waterproofing expert should be able to answer these questions.

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[Jimmy-T]

I have a feeling that I have read somewhere that floors in townhouses are not common property.  Anyone else?

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