#24565
Sir Humphrey
Strataguru

    My expectations are based on the ACT legislation and the ACT tribunal, but perhaps you can check or others can advise if you would have equivalent things: 

    The ACT Unit Titles (Management) Act has a section on dispute resolution and it includes sections on who can take what other parties to the tribunal for an order over what sorts of matters. 

    Even if the OC has not done anything unreasonable to date, if a defect in the common property appears, and it is too late to get the original builder to fix it, then the OC is lumped with making the repair. 

    Following is a quote from a Teys Lawyers fact sheet from a few years ago:

    “The strata owners have a strict liability to repair and maintain common property. Problems emerge with one aspect of the common property, for example, rusting balustrades on a balcony and water penetration into the living area of a unit as a result of a defect in a waterproof membrane. The owner of the unit alleges both problems are for the strata scheme as a whole because the water membrane is common property. Years pass whilst the parties dispute responsibility. The unit owner moves out and sues the strata scheme for loss of rent and the loss in value of the unit because of the failure to repair and maintain common property.

    These are the facts of Seiwa Proprietary Limited v The Owners Strata Plan 35042 (2006) NSWSC 1157. The New South Wales court of appeal found in favour of Seiwa, upholding a strict duty on the strata scheme in question to maintain and keep the common property in good repair. A breech of this statutory duty gave rise to a private right for the unit owner to be awarded damages of $150,000 for the loss of use of the unit. Further damages of up to $250,000 would follow in the court’s opinion if repairs were not done within three months. The strata scheme also had to pay the unit owner’s legal costs.”

    Quoting that might focus the minds of the EC. I wonder whether some imaginative solution is possible? Perhaps there is someone single in the building with a large unit who would be happy to have a tenant for a while at a low cost to the OC?