@Paddy said:
Thanks Jimmy. As you said “Installations that are left on common property without permission become the responsibility of the OC when the owner who put it there sells and moves away.” That was my understanding also and therefor the Strata Manager was correct in paying for the replacement.
Not necessarily. There were other options, such as the strata manager saying that unless the lot owner resumed responsibility for the water heater, then the owners corp would remove it. The lot owner can’t have their ownership cake and eat it.