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Here we are again. NCAT have now decided that the penalties will not stand as the OC is doing a good job??? Well the waterproofing has proved unsuccessful, there are many leaks in the building now, others now have water in their ceiling and holes in their ceiling to allow the water out.
A new waterproofing report was called for by OC as they now have water all throughout the building. This report CONFIRMS all our evidence that was not taken into account and states that some work done will have to be redone. So much for not letting us have a Strata Manager come in to sort it out. Our SM is not allowed to do anything as it costs money.
We are going to apply for an appeal (have had my husband very ill) Our Solicitor is not a favourite of NCAT and is unable to get us anywhere. He is supposed to be no 1. in Sydney.
It has cost us a fortune and we are back where we started.
Any advice on who we should go to or the order from herein.
Thankyou so much
Thank you Jimmy T and TrulEConcerned.
Thank you both for your help. I do understand that the comments herein are not from professionals, however, there is more common sense in what is written here than we have been able to glean from our Solicitor.
He was accused of not cross examining witnesses adequately, not lodging the correct paperwork, lodging at the last minute or late and so he has dropped his bundle and told us that he feels NCAT have made up their mind and an appeal would be fruitless.
All this even though he agrees with us that we have done nothing wrong and that our evidence was all justified, correct, supported and our living conditions have been at times disgraceful. There are no orders for the OC to do anything to correct the situation, so the damage continues, and the “Duty of Care” is a joke. 9 ceiling replacements etc etc and it is not an issue? Where do we go now.
I really do appreciate the responses I get, thank you. Please keep safe and well.
Dear TrulEConcerned
Thank you so much for your reply, we do really appreciate your advice. This remains a nightmare.
Our Solicitor applied for the Strata Manager and NCAT responded by giving orders that they thought the Body Corporate were doing a good job. Now due to their “winning” of the case, they are taking us to court for their costs!
We will be left with :
Continued leaks and ongoing destruction to our unit – it is getting worse.
No date for the BC to complete any works (that are now proving to be wrong and two other areas have just been dug up)
No accounting for their breaking of the NCAT orders for them to complete the work by December, 2021. (Not completed to date)
No accounting for their non compliance when given an additional 90 days.
No accounting for them not lodging plans for waterproofing with Australian Design and Waterproofing Commission – another law broken. (The waterproofing they have done has been dug up in places and is not finished)
No accounting for them breaking two of the bylaws.
We have suffered nearly 11 years of leaks, applied to Fair Trading (WHEN WE WERE FLOODED IN DROUGHT CONDITIONS) who sent us to NCAT who have done absolutely nothing to even try and help us, we are in the same situation, out of pocket, nothing has been achieved for us, we have done nothing wrong, now they want us to pay for their costs? HOW DOES THAT WORK. HOW CAN THAT HAPPEN.
Please – your advice would be really appreciate we are at our wits end. Hope you are well and safe. Kind regards
Dear TrulEConcerned, Thank you so much, I will carry out all your advice to the letter. I am so grateful for your time.
We did not get the Strata Manager appointed as NCAT felt they were trying to get things done. (it has been 10 years) They did not get the plans approved by Design& Building Practitioners Act, 2020 so there is every chance they are in breach of their Insurance as well.
They used the last building insurance policy to pay the initial legal costs they incurred and they have had to seek another policy. We are waiting on a reply requesting this information????? They have just had to dig up a garden bed that they had ? fixed, another garden bed has just incurred another leak, the car parking still leaks, the garden bed above our bedroom (suggested by the Architect to remove) is still not complete and is full of water when it rains and they have to pump it out.
In the meantime, nothing has been done about our door from our loungeroom which is coming away from the wall, our leaking foyer + rotten carpet and unattached skirting boards, delaminating windows, water in the bedroom walls running on to our balcony etc.. The landscaping and waterproofing are still not completed as per the orders of the 2/6/2020. NCAT “conceded” that they have not complied with the orders, but do not think they should be penalised??? I ask again, WHY GO TO FAIR TRADING/NCAT GET ORDERS THAT ARE CLEARLY BROKEN WITH NO CONSEQUENCES!!!
We have done everything by the book! Waited patiently, have paid for a lot of repairs ourselves so that we can live and now NO PENALTY! and on top of that they want us to pay their costs. Not one negative has been proven against us. We have never been accused of doing anything wrong other than try to fix our home.
4 owners have sold and another unit is on the market all in the last 2 years. 2 more will be going in the next 2 years. Our levies this year are $45,000.00 due to the additional levies as they had no money to carry out the repairs as specified by the waterproofing experts x 2 (whose instructions were modified due to costs). Now they have a plumber on the job!
This story seems ridiculous but I can assure you it has been worse than any other case I have read about by far and we have so much evidence and so many witnesses to our plight it is unbelievable. I have to be determined as my husband’s health depends on it. So thank you again – you give me strength.
Dear TrulEConcerned,
Thankyou for your response, we are very grateful for all the advice we can get. We applied for a Strata Manager as we need someone to come in and organise what has to be done. Our current Strata Manager has not been accessible to us as we were given a letter some months ago from our Treasurer, (who lives four hours away) stating that if we contacted him, we could be charged for his fees?? On contacting NCAT we were informed that this is not allowed. We have informed the OC but it would appear our existing Strata Manager has been made ineffective.
We will definitely attempt your advice to get two quotes and apply for our door to be fixed. The foyer at our door leaks EVERY time it rains, the carpet is stained, dirty and odorous and now the skirting boards are falling off the walls. This is common property so we can’t do anything with this. We have water running down the inside cavity of our bedroom wall, don’t think we can do anything with this as we know it is coming from the common area above. bu Another problem we can’t fix. Our bedroom windows have delaminated as with other units – we have been told this will be attended to. Our floor has had to be sealed with two layers of resin as the water was coming from the slab into our carpet. The carpet was replaced by the insurance company but the water in the slab has never been investigated. The waterproofing experts x 2 advice has not been followed, correct plans for same were never lodged so the work that has been done is still leaking. The OC have broken the NCAT orders, extensions of time, By-Laws and not followed correct procedures and the final decision – They are trying to fix the issues – 10 years so far. Thankyou again, really appreciate your concern.
Dear Whoopi,
My heart goes out to you, and anyone else out there who is suffering like we are. There is no justice in this system at all. Yes I would be grateful for any advice you can give me. I will have to keep going as my husband’s health is at stake here and none of the problems are our fault, the major issues are with the common property and we are unable to do the repairs ourselves. I agree the OC has too much power when they have no knowledge of how to fix these issues. Good luck with your repairs – well done. Kind regards
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