@SmileyHouse said:
Thanks guysI read Jimmy T’s article some months back around this issue, perhaps my reading was incorrect. Jimmy mentioned that if a tenant moves out citing works that the strata is commencing then owners have the right to claim loss of rent from the Owners Corporation.
This is a very grey and contentious area which falls between the stools of collective responsibility and individual rights. You have a “right” to take any action you wish but there’s no guarantee that it will either be successful or, if it is successful, that whatever damages you win outweigh the financial and social cost of taking the action.
My rule of thumb would be if everyone is suffering a similar level of disruption then your claim is unlikely to succeed. However, if one owner is carrying the can so that everyone else can benefit, then there might be reasonable grounds for a claim for compensation. And it’s at this point that I strongly advise you to have a chat with a lawyer (just click on the ad above, if you’re not sure who to call).
Strata law is not the be-all or end-all in disputes. It is subservient to other laws and it is not unknown for strata owners to step outside the Fair Trading/CTTT nexus in search of a more equitable outcome, via the District and Supreme Courts, for instance.
However, if you felt you were being unfairly treated, you could raise a complaint at Fair Trading, the first step of which would be mediation. One argument you might make is that the Owners Corp had acted incompetently, causing you greater financial stress than was necessary.
But, really, if you want to take this further your first step should be to call a strata lawyer and ask them what they think.