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Topic
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Hello,
Does anyone know what happens if an owner has blocked access to a common property riser that houses gas, telephone and water for the building. This has happened in our building when an owner renovated her bathroom tiling over access to the pipes. The Strata Manager says; “All new renovation will be the Lot owners however in the case that a renovation was done and approved by the EC without providing the instruction then it is a Strata Issue.”
My take on this situation is that if the owner wanted to block access she should have requested permission to do this from the owners. Common sense suggests that the access door was there for a reason. How can a bunch of non-professionals (EC) even know to state the obvious? This ‘mistake’ by the EC could cost the owners over $100k as many renovators have done the same thing. Why should owners pay for such a dumb act?
Looking forward to your comments.
Newlsie
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Section 116 of the strata act (below) says otherwise. Firstly, residents are not allowed to interfere with the “passage or provision” of services. Secondly they must give notice that they intend to alter the structure of the lot. I think you have a very strong case to take to NCAT ordering the owners to fix this at their expense.
116 Owners, occupiers and other persons not to interfere with structure of lot or services to lot
(1) An owner, mortgagee or covenant chargee in possession (whether in person or not), lessee or occupier of a lot must not do anything or permit anything to be done on or in relation to that lot so that:
(b) the passage or provision of water, sewage, drainage, gas, electricity, garbage, artificially heated or cooled air, heating oil and other services (including telephone, radio and television services) through or by means of any pipes, wires, cables or ducts for the time being in the lot is interfered with.
(2) The owner of a lot must not alter the structure of the lot without giving to the owners corporation, not later than 14 days before commencement of the alteration, a written notice describing the proposed alteration.
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.
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