Reply To: Rainwater from exterior wall crack damaging bedroom

The Strata Property manager denies that the wall in question is common property but liaised with the real-estate agent for the unit above to organise an investigation to be carried out via their trades so the cause could be identified. I complied with their request on 30th September and was told by my strata manger that he would reach out to me update me on the investigation. (I also found this is a bit wierd as to why the strata property manager is saying that the realestate agent for the unit above to organise trades. Even though there is a tenant in the above unit, shouldn’t it be strata organising this rather than the realestate agent?)

Strata Property Manager 30^th September:  ‘I will contact the agent of Lot XX on Monday and ask them to revisit the investigation via their trades and report’ their findings accordingly so that I can update you.

On the 27th November I followed up with my strata manager to see if there were any new findings from the investigation as It has been roughly two months and the  actual cause of the mould and damage remains, and waters seepage continues to return after heavy rain fall but was told that the investigation never took place. Please see below the Property Manager response:

‘Regarding the investigation from September, I have not been informed as to whether an investigation went ahead as the property manager of the relevant unit has stopped responding to my correspondence.

The damage to the affected areas have gotten worse, and I told my strata manager that it is essential that the source be identified as I’m starting to discover that this is more than just  can be multiple factors contributing to water entering my apartment such as the window flashings not being installed correctly, allowing water to find its way between the exposed outer crack and inner skin of the wall or but could be actually due to the storm water pipers not being fitted with flexible movement couplings causing expansion of the soil and structural distress to the apartment.  If the roof runs flat (which it does) and runs into a boxed gutter then it could be leaking. This could explain the new crack forming on my bedroom ceiling and my internal door hands and locks of my bifold glass sliding doors are no longer engaging and have condensation trapped between the glass.

I don’t feel like there have been adequate transparency which makes me wonder if it’s actually my responsibility to pay for the remediation.

In the  2021 AGM minutes one of the following matters of general business that were discussed was the stormwater issue and that is still hadn’t been rectified. As the minutes didn’t expand what the issue was, I asked my property manager to explain what this was about and explained that this could be the potential source of the leak,  his response was

‘As for the stormwater issue listed in the 2021 AGM minutes, my understanding is that it has been rectified already, as the 2021 AGM took place on 12/01/2021’.

When I asked him to enclose the report and what steps were taken to resolve the issue, he didn’t respond. I then went over the March 2022 AGM minutes which quotes;

‘Owners Corporation is awaiting the new Plan of Subdivision, this is not able to be completed until Mr X has the storm water issue addressed as noted in the previous years AGM Minutes’.

I’m not sure why my property manager said this was resolved last year when it is evident that it has not.

Further to this, the subdivision plan that I have in my contract of sales (2008 version)  has a modification table recording all addition changes to the plan. One of the affected parcels is to do with my lot, the unit above and common property areas. The time stamp of these amendments were made in 2013. If there is a new subdivision plan as stated in the March 2022 meeting notes, then how can the property manager be certain that this wall isn’t common property?

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