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Hi everyone, I am seeking advices / ideas on how to proceed as a unit owner, regarding water ingress issue and by-law on “Common Property Rights”.
If there are any crucial information missing, please let me know.
Background information:
– My apartment is based in Sydney, NSW. I am a unit owner and this is my first “house”.
– This is a new off-the-plan apartment built in 2019. I moved in late 2019.
– Since late 2022 until now, I am currently renting out my unit to tenant.
– My apartment has Building Manager and Strata Manager.
– In Feb 2020, my bedroom had water ingress. Water was leaking from under the skirting board, destroying the carpet eventually.
Building Manager & Strata Manager pulled in Builder to investigate and fix the issue. Builder made some holes on the lower part of walls, put in concrete onto lower parts of wall, patched the wall up, painted over it, attached skirting board and installed new carpet. Builder guaranteed no future leaks.
– In Nov 2020, water leakage occurred again. It took two months for something substantial to happen.
– In March 2021, Building Manager hired an independent building consultant to determine responsibility as Builder pointed at Strata as being responsible on the grounds of “ill-maintained pipes” as the cause of leakage.
Strata informed me that the Builder and Independent Consultant will do a “Joint Destructive Investigation” to determine the source of water ingress. They set off to remove skirting boards, make numerous holes in the bedroom wall and looked inside for “trails”.
(IMPORTANT NOTE) Builder made holes in shower by removing two or three tiles off shower wall below shower head, and looked for indication of leaking pipes, etc. Builder also sprayed water around shower, thinking the water comes from the shower, leaking into the adjacent bedroom.
Independent consultant (IC) theorised that water comes from outside, and suspect balcony. IC used dye test on my balcony and nearby balcony, and found that the source comes from adjacent balcony of nearby unit. Builder found to be responsible for shoddy workmanship in waterproofing said balcony.
Builder rectified using polyurethane joint sealant on the balcony balustrade wall, and repairing / replacing plasterboard wall lining, installing skirting, repairing shower tiles, and install new carpet.Current Situation:
Last week, my tenant informed me that the carpet is getting more wetter.
I asked Building Manager to fix the water ingress issue again. He gave a vague answer – he is “committed to resolving the issue of leak penetration and make every effort to reach satisfactory resolution”.Strata has sent an email for the upcoming AGM, attaching an Agenda. This Agenda stated that the Builder has gone into liquidation, and Owner Corporation (OC) has withdrawn proceeding against Builder in NCAT.
This is particular important as I suspected it means Strata (Strata Manager or Building Manager or both) will not help me with the water ingress issue.Builder Manager came with a “builder” during a “surprise visit” in which my tenants did not expect, in order to carry out the investigation. My tenants informed me of that after they have left.
One day after, Building Manager emailed me, and stated that they have tested the shower, which revealed hairline cracks in the grouts of the tiles, noting shower usage resulted in water penetration into adjacent bedroom. He stated that this is a clear cause-and-effect relationship between shower use and water penetration. He specifically pointed out that it is fresh and unrelated to stormwater events.
He referred to ByLaw on Common Property Rights, stating that it is my responsibility to maintain shower base tiles, grouts and areas within the shower, not OC. He also stated that it is my responsibility to replace the carpet as well. He closed my case.I went to my unit to do my own investigation. The shower has hand-held shower head. I used hand-held shower head to spray at the tiles opposite shower head holder i.e. facing away, for more than 5 minutes. No water penetration has occurred.
I changed position and aimed at tiles below shower head holder. It is confirmed that the water started leaking into adjacent bedroom.
I spoke to the tenants, and they confirmed that all these months of using the shower, the shower head water-flow was always facing opposite the shower head holder side, hence no water leakage until recently.Questions
– What role does a Builder Manager play in addressing this issue?
– I think since the destructive investigation in March 2021, the Builder did not repair the shower properly when re-grouting after putting the tiles back in, and using poor quality silicon caulking.
I also suspect that it is possible the joint sealant may have failed due to poor quality or shoddy installation, resulting in water penetration from adjacent balcony into the bedroom again.
I am not sure how to go around this – should I email back to Builder Manager, and pointed out that this water leakage was the result of the Builder’s actions during the Destructive Investigation, and therefore ByLaw does not apply since it was the fault of the Builder’s workmanship.
However, since the Builder has gone into liquidation, I think it falls onto OC or it doesn’t?
– If Building Manager does not agree, and insisted that it is my responsibility to fix everything, what recourse can I take?
Should I go to Fair Trading to make a complaint about the Strata (Building Manager & Strata Manager)?I can provide pictures, but I do not know whether the Forum allows or not. I am concerned about the potential identification should I post the pictures up. I can provide the pictures through PM if this is allowable.
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A case of the tail wagging the dog.
The strata manager and the building manager are agents of the owners. The SM and the BM do the work instructed to the by the owners.
The opinion of the BM does not matter, the BM can make a report (he needs to be qualified or get an expert to make that report) to the committee and the committee decides what is done next.
To me its clear that there are some building defects. Its unfortunate that the builder has one broke. It then leaves it up to the OC to effect repairs.
Recent court cases have said that the OC cant just sit on their hands whilst some background processes are happening. The OC needs to effect repairs so that occupants are not inconvenienced
I’d put my complaint in writing to the strata manager explaining exactly the problem, and any remedial actions taken.
Id give the committee two months to act, and then seek mediation at Fair Trading as a precursor to getting an order at NCAT.
Hi Waterboy,
It would be helpful to know whether the affected wall is part of the boundary of your apartment, or is internal to your lot?
Waterproofing in a shower is not reliant upon the tiles and grout, it is the membrane underneath that does the work.
If the problem is in a common property wall, notwithstanding your obligation to maintain tiles and grout, it would be for the owners corporation to repair defective waterproofing. Your costs for repairing the carpet and skirting would be claimable from the owners corporation. Hence the question about the location of the leaky wall.
Likewise with the adjacent balcony, it is the membrane beneath the tiles which does the work of waterproofing and replacing sealant on a joint may work but will likely need re-doing when the sealant deteriorates. You may indeed have water ingress from 2 sources, the adjacent balcony and your shower.
You should address your concerns to the Secretary of the owners corporation and the strata managing agent. The owners corporation remains responsible for the waterproofing to common property even though the builder has gone, and you have only 2 years to claim for new damage to carpets and skirting.
This information sheet says that lot owners are responsible for both internal walls and water damage where the source is inside the lot. According to your floor plan, both apply here.
However, if the unit is less than six years old, the developer or builder may be responsible for poor workmanship. I don’t think this has anything to do with the strata scheme or building manager as it seems it is not common property and isn’t affecting another lot.
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.
Hi Waterboy,
I agree with Jimmy, from your floor plan it appears to be an internal problem, and thus for you to fix.
However, I do note it seemed odd to me that the wetness penetration is on the opposite side of the bathroom to that where the tiles were removed. The photos show the shower spray directed at the floor. I am wondering if the water is being introduced into your apartment’s floor slab through the shower floor?
To investigate this you would need to engage a high level waterproofing consultant to conduct methodical testing, likely including dyes. Then, if the problem is found to be in the floor waterproofing and you do claim against the owners corporation it is possible they will apply a sealant to the shower floor. You would save time and money just moving ahead now and doing this work yourself, especially as the apartment is tenanted and you cannot leave your tenant living with water and mould problems.
It may be worth asking your neighbours if anybody else has a similar problem? If bathrooms generally have been poorly waterproofed it is only a matter of time before the apartments below start to show damage.
If you’re saying that the owners corp tradies caused the problem when they were trying to fix another problem, then, yes, you can claim against the OC.
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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