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Hello,
I’m wondering if anyone has any knowledge or experience with strata proposing a by law that states that its intention is to force lot owners to pay the excess on insurance claims for damage to lot property, when the damage was caused by a faulty common area pipe?
Long story short, I’m a lot owner in a complex of 12 units and had damage to my kitchen from a slow leaking greywater waste pipe. The pipe was behind the wall, servicing all the units (not solely mine), and the leak was found to be strata liable at the time of the repair since it was in the common area. Strata repaired the pipe eventually 7 weeks after I reported it, but 7 months later I am still in dispute with them regarding repairing the damage and contamination to my kitchen. The strata manager informed me over the phone that they are not going through insurance and that the committee has approved a quote from a second contractor, which leaves out a lot of the items that the original contractor agreed to repair, and will not repair the damage to its original condition. He stated that they have chosen the second contractor because they decided the original contractor quote was ‘very expensive’ and the funds to repair my kitchen have to come out of the strata budget.
They are now proposing a by-law in the AGM which specifically states that its intention is to:
“determine whether a lot owner shall be responsible for the payment of any applicable insurance excess following the settlement of an insurance claim that affects only their lot property at the strata scheme. The intention of the by-law is for the lot owner to assume liability for that expense.”
So now it looks like even though the strata manager informed me over the phone that they are not going through insurance to pay for the repairs, they may now be trying to cover themselves and make me pay the excess for the repairs to the damage if they decide to change their minds and go through insurance to cover the cost, or be ordered by NCAT to pay for the damage.
Can anyone please advise me if they have seen this before or if it looks as though it is legal for them to pass this bylaw? It can’t be a coincidence that this by-law has suddenly come up and it feels very much as though it’s in direct response to my dispute regarding the repairs.
I’m looking at engaging a professional to do a forensic search of the strata records to see if there has been any correspondence that would prove bias or unfair treatment that I can use at mediation. However, I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to get the by-law defeated if enough of the other owners vote for it, or the committee members have a proxy vote situation in place for other owners who don’t care enough to attend/vote/respond. Is there a conflict of interest with the committee members voting on the by-law, since they are directly responsible for approving the quotes on repairs to lot damage & deciding whether lot damage claims are put through insurance?
The Strata manager has also ignored by motion which I emailed to be added to the agenda (within the required timeframe, written with explanatory notes in a manner that it can be voted on, with a request to be advised if it needs any rewriting etc in order to be eligible to be added) – isn’t it illegal for them to simply ignore it & not add a motion if it follows all the guidelines??
Am I setting myself up for a battle that’s not worth the fight? Please help, any advice appreciated…
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