Reply To: New By-Law for Balcony Tile Replacement

My intention was to create a By-Law to regulate the cost sharing between owner and Body Corporate, when cost sharing was appropriate.

Tiles are the property and responsibility of the unit owner. Waterproof membrane is the property and responsibility of the Body Corporate.

If the waterproof membrane fails, the full cost of tile removal, membrane replacement and new tile placement must be the responsibility of the Body Corporate.

If the tiles need replacing but the waterproof membrane is still ok, the cost of tile removal and replacement is the responsibility of the unit owner.

However the process of doing this would most likely damage the waterproof membrane and therefore I thought it would be good practice to have a By-Law which defined how cost could be shared between owner and the Body Corporate.

Simply overlaying existing tiles with new tiles is not a good solution.  In our building the balustrades are exactly 1 metre high.  Overlaying tiles would reduce this height to less than the minimum legal height required.

The win-win outcome would exist because each party would gain new property for potentially half the cost each.

However, I have decided not to proceed with development of a new By-Law following advice from our Body Corporate Manager that a By-Law is not suitable for something such as this and is not required, and that it is a Committee decision to reimburse an owner or to arrange waterproof membrane repair.