#27673
stressed
Flatchatter

     Waterproofing in a bathroom is required in accordance with the Building Code of Australia and AS 3740 – “Waterproofing of Domestic Wet Areas”; a kitchen is specifically excluded from the definition of “Domestic Wet Areas”. Waterproofing must be carried out and certified by tradesmen specifically licensed to do waterproofing.

    Section 110 (1) applies to “work” for the purposes of minor renovations to common property in connection with the owner’s lot. “Work” is a collective noun and means that for each minor renovation, as listed in s 110 (3) and in regulation 28 of the SSMR 2016, all the works required for the purposes of each minor renovation  are included.

    The work involved in a kitchen renovation would including disconnecting the lot owner’s plumbing from the common property stack and then reconnecting the new plumbing to the common property stack.

     The exclusion, under s 110 (7) (d), of “work involving waterproofing” is only applicable if there is already waterproofing in the bathroom and that waterproofing is common property.

    For waterproofing to be common property it must have been in existence when the strata plan was registered.

    In old residential flat buildings there was no requirement for waterproofing in bathrooms if there was only a shower over the bath, and no shower recess.

    In such a situation, s110 (7) (d) would not apply, as there is no common property waterproofing.

    S 108 does not apply to building works which fall within the provisions of s109 and s110.

    S110 (1) specifically states that  a special resolution is not required to authorise minor renovations.

    The requirement, by some owners corporations, of a common property rights by-law in order to approve minor renovations is a contravention of the SSMA 2015. These owners corporations seek to abrogate their statutory duty in respect of common property to the lot owners concerned.