Flat Chat Strata Forum Two-unit strata Current Page

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  • #8474
    sjl

      I’m the owner of one of two units on a block in Melbourne. Without going into all the gory details, let’s just say that I will soon be an owner occupier (long story; it’s currently rented out, has been for a couple of years now, but I’ll be moving back in within the next three months), whilst the other owner is an investor. The strata so far has been a fairly informal arrangement between the two owners, rather than having the additional expense of a professional manager.

      We’ve had issues with the common insurance. Last year, it was sent to the other owner’s address. He was out of the country; it didn’t get picked up upon; suffice to say that it didn’t get paid until a month after it was due. (Ouch.) I gave the insurer specific instructions to send copies of the renewal to my managing agent, and to his managing agent, when it next came done; they assured me that this had been done.

      This year, I refinanced. So I called up the insurer a week ago to get a certificate of currency. That showed that the insurance lapses in one week. I queried. They had sent the renewal only to the other owner’s address, and not to the additional addresses I’d asked for, and – once again – he’s overseas. I’m not sure if he’s moved permanently, or if it’s just coincidence that he’s been overseas when it’s fallen due the past two times.

      Add in some conversations I’ve had with a friend who does strata management (in NSW) for a living, and I don’t have a great deal of confidence in the current insurer. So I went out and got a couple of quotes. The cheaper of the two (by CHU) is approximately $400 more expensive than the current insurer.

      My feeling is that the additional cost ($200 each over the course of a year) is well worth it for the peace of mind (if they’re getting the renewals wrong, despite assurances the previous year that they’d acted upon my instructions, what assurance do we have that they’ll pay out if we have to claim?) The other owner is balking, and asking for more quotes – I don’t have time in the week remaining to chase down alternatives, and the strata manager friend reckons that the two I’ve asked for quotes are the only ones worth dealing with. So far, we’ve exchanged only a couple of polite emails (mine with the quotes, his response, and my response to his response.) My concern is: what happens if we can’t agree on the right course of action with regards to the common insurance?

      There are a few other concerns that I have that relate to matters that have been raised here by others, and I’ll be digging into them when I get time. But that’s the most pressing. I suspect that I’ll end up folding and renewing with the current insurer this year, to make sure I have coverage – but I really do want to get away from them and onto an insurer that a professional in the field has had good dealings with, and I intend to see this through.

      I do realise that any answers here are not formal legal advice. I guess I’m asking, more or less: where should I be turning to next if informal friendly talks break down? I’m hoping they don’t, but hope is not a good sole strategy.

      Thanks.

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    • #16840
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster

        From my reading of the Owners Corporation Act, two lot stratas are exempt from the legal requirement to insure common property which means it’s hard to compel your neighbour to do anything in regard to insurance.

        I am pretty sure the people at CHU will have encountered something like this before so why not call them, tell them you want to gibve them your business and ask their advice. They are the expersta, after all.

        By the way, your current insurers sound so lackadaisical I wonder if you are actually insured at all.

        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.
        #16844
        sjl

          @JimmyT said:
          From my reading of the Owners Corporation Act, two lot stratas are exempt from the legal requirement to insure common property which means it’s hard to compel your neighbour to do anything in regard to insurance.

          Well, we both have mortgages, so there is a legal requirement there in any case (at least for us as individuals). The fact that it’s a common building suggests to me that getting insurance just for half of the property might be difficult, but I haven’t looked at it in depth. No time; it’s never been an issue for me before, and this came up at the eleventh hour making it hard to do in-depth, methodical planning and thinking. Good thought about CHU; I’ll be having a discussion with them when the opportunity arises, which will probably be around the middle of next year. I think I’ll also have a chat with a conveyancing solicitor I know (who, by coincidence, handled my side of the purchase, and the sale side of the other unit’s purchase by the other owner.)

          By the way, your current insurers sound so lackadaisical I wonder if you are actually insured at all.

          I know what you mean. They did give me a certificate of currency, though, so I can point at that and say that there is cover – but frankly, given the issues to date combined with my strata managing friend’s comments (for example, “$INSURER does not pay claims” – which I take to mean as “$INSURER takes far too long to pay claims”), I’m not comfortable accepting them as the insurer of choice.

          Still, as the saying goes, the first step is admitting that you have a problem… damnit, why do I have to be so picky and pedantic about the fine details?

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        Flat Chat Strata Forum Two-unit strata Current Page