[Edita]

We have contacted Consumer Affairs Victoria and they have confirmed that responsibility for the balcony is shared with the neighbour below. They advised us to get a quote from a builder, asking to separate as much as possible the costs for works on neighbour’s lot and on ours; then to have a chat with the neighbour, explain everything showing the cost and, should it not go well, to explain that we would go through VCAT.

So we got the quote and, fortunately, it was much lower than initially expected. The works are not as extensive as the first assessment indicated. The actual poles on the neighbour’s lot do not need to be replaced, they will only be painted after the work on the balcony has been completed. So we are happy to cover the costs by ourselves and not damage the relationship with the neighbour.

Thank you to everyone who has generously chipped in with their knowledge. Much appreciated!

 

[Edita]

From what I understand from the plan of subdivision, balcony is my lot, but poles are part of neighbour’s lot. Only roof and below floor is common property, in addition to passage and parking.

Should I contact someone who does OC management to ask for advice? A former manager maybe? Or a lawyer?

[Edita]

Where can i find an expert in Victorian strata law?

[Edita]

Thank you so much Jimmy-t! You are very helpful.

I don’t think that replacing OC Manager is an option at this time. They have just appointed them and they did it without our presence, because they did it right after our settlement, when they didn’t have our contact and we hadn’t moved in yet. Our property had a tenant in, so we couldn’t move in immediately. They could have asked the tenant for our contact, but I have a hunch that they didn’t want us there, hence no effort was made to contact us.

Cosmo, balcony itself may not be a common property, and we are fine to fix balustrade and the balcony floor. But since the wooden poles that are holding the balcony are placed on the courtyard of the neighbour below, it makes sense to me that the poles are common property. Those poles are also the reason the balcony is dropping, so I would expect that OC is responsible to lift the balcony back to its original position too. But I will check everything with the Consumer Affairs Victoria to make sure.

[Edita]

The reason I don’t trust the OC Manager is we had OC meeting few days ago and I raised the issue and the OC Manager completely dismissed it, just saying she hates balconies. She also confirmed that insurance probably won’t cover it. She didn’t clarify anything about responsibilities. Then she left while we (the owners) were still talking. She reacted in a similar way when I gave her other information about cabling and told her she needs to know that, her reaction was like it’s none of her business, although she should be the first person to inform all the owners about it.

[Edita]

Do you mean real estate agent or the property manager? We live at the property, so no agent. There is a property manager, but I’d prefer to find out independently. i don’t have much trust in them unfortunately.

I think you might benefit greatly from logging on to this CAV website and working your way through the information, including all the linked pages, there. There is a difference between and Owners Corporation Manager (strata manager in NSW and QLD) and a property manager.

Yes, I meant the Owners Corporation manager, sorry.

[Edita]

Thank you, Jimmy-T!

Another question if you know: There are only 2 balconies in the building. The other balcony was already repaired previously and I was told that the owner of the balcony paid for the repairs alone. Did that create a precedent that would influence my case?

I am concerned that the building hasn’t been maintained well and a bit annoyed with the other owners about it. Their attitude seems to be that it’s bad luck of whoever owns the lot, as if they were independent units and not apartments that are part of the same building.

[Edita]

Do you mean real estate agent or the property manager? We live at the property, so no agent. There is a property manager, but I’d prefer to find out independently. i don’t have much trust in them unfortunately.

[Author]

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