› Flat Chat Strata Forum › By-laws and outlaws › Enforcing breach of by-law after more than 3 yrs? › Current Page
Dech
I'll put that question back to you and ask where it says in the Act that unapproved alterations by a previous owner are the responsibility of the new owner. What the Act does say is that the Owners Corporation has an absolute responsibility to maintain and repair common property and everything else flows from that.
Ignorance is no defence in common law and neither, it seems, is it in strata law. 'm not saying it's right or fair, and maybe there should be an opportunity to hook people retrospectively for damage done to CP while they owned the property. But it is what it is.
In this case, the air-con unit must have been visible for years and its installation can't have gone unnoticed. I'd be intereted to see what happened if an OC did pursue a previous owners over damage done in the past.
I have a feeling that you do have to declare that you don't know of any unauthorised work when you sign a sales contract. But I'd imagine the defence would be along the lines of 'the former chairman (RIP) said it was OK and it's been there for years anyway'.
Your comment about having a clear record of work done is absolutely right. A paper trail will be required at some point in a legal action and in smaller blocks, especially, owners need to be on alert when a builder's ute suddenly appears in the driveway