Thanks StrataGuru. Very helpful about what the rules are in Victoria. However, I appear to be snookered. The owner of the unit above is the builder of the apartment block. His building company has gone into receivership, and a plan by him to purchase my unit, and others in the apartment block, recently fell through because of lack of finances. He lost his deposit because of this!
So, if I approach VCAT and hopefully eventually get a court order for the builder to repair the balcony. If he continues his usual practice over the past few years of not repairing building defects, nothing will happen unless I presumably obtain VCAT approval to introduce a locksmith and the police to allow a tradesman to gain entry and seal the tiles. My cost since the builder won’t pay, and since so many people are after him at present, it would seem that even if he goes bankrupt, I will be low on the list to recover even part of the expense.
Because the balcony is not common property, the current claim with VMIA to fix the extensive building defects won’t apply. And the builder/owner of the unit isn’t indemnified, hence getting help from that insurance source seems out of the question.
I can’t see how my unit insurance will assist since it only covers damage caused within my unit.
Could the OC’s insurance be approached to carry out the necessary repairs?
My fear is that as water continues to flow through the ceiling of my unit, it might eventually collapse, thereby causing other issues.
What to do? I am perplexed