#24723
Jimmy-T
Keymaster

    Under section 62 of the Act, the Owners Corp has an absolute duty to maintain and repair common property (see below).  There are exclusions but they only apply if the Owners Corp has passed a special resolution to NOT repair the common property AND a decision to do so doesn’t affect the safety or appearance of the property.

    So here’s what you do.  Send a letter to your secretary saying you want to have a meeting to decide on a plan to repair the common property.

    You may, depending on the politics of the building, forewarn them that if they refuse to have the meeting or refuse at the meeting to do anything about the repairs, you will pursue them at NCAT, seeking orders under section 62.

    So basically, this becomes a “hard way or easy way” question.  The hard way is that they fight you at NCAT and lose, then they have to raise the money to fix the common property, or they do the right thing, get repair estimates prepared, raise the money (either by special levies or, preferably to most people, strata loans) and get the work done.

    If owners say they can’t afford it, that’s too bad.  They have been saving money by not putting enough in the sinking fund – now their parsimony has come back to bite them on the collective bum.

    Here’s what section 62 of the Act says – and clearly, this is not optional:

     

    62   What are the duties of an owners corporation to maintain and repair property?

    (1)  An owners corporation must properly maintain and keep in a state of good and serviceable repair the common property and any personal property vested in the owners corporation.

    (2)  An owners corporation must renew or replace any fixtures or fittings comprised in the common property and any personal property vested in the owners corporation.

    (3)  This clause does not apply to a particular item of property if the owners corporation determines by special resolution that:

    (a)  it is inappropriate to maintain, renew, replace or repair the property, and

    (b)  its decision will not affect the safety of any building, structure or common property in the strata scheme or detract from the appearance of any property in the strata scheme.

    Note. The decision of an owners corporation under subsection (3) may be reviewed by an Adjudicator (see section 138).

    The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.