› Flat Chat Strata Forum › Talkin’ ’bout a renovation › Owner selling up after illegal major renos › Current Page
When selling a property the vendor and/or real estate agent has to disclose all material things affecting the property.
The certificate issued by the council is a paper exercise. The council does not have as prebuilt drawings for your strata so cant compare to what has been added. It only checks that the property complies with the “obvious” issues.
Have the SM or the committee send the selling agent, with a copy to the owner, stating that the renovations do not have OC approval. The agent is then bound to tell prospective owners of this issue.
Whether the agent does or not point out this “material” thing to prospective buyers, you have now shifted the problem to the seller. If a new buyer comes in and the OC requires remediation at their cost the OC says that this was advised to the agent/vendor. The buyer then has an issue with the seller for misrepresentation.
If the agent does inform the prospective buyers, watch them retreat. Either the seller gets a low price or the seller makes good all the issues so that the OC says its approved.