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Topic
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As I travel a great deal, the plumber employed by the OC to service our strata block recommended that during any absences the water be turned off at the main water connection to the apartment. This advice has been diligently followed.
The connection, which I consider is common property, is situated in a laundry cupboard. On returning from a recent 3 week overseas trip I found that the main water connection tap had leaked. As a consequence, the cupboard was severely damaged.
The leak has been fixed by the plumber employed by the OC. He found that when the connection was closed the tap leaked but when open, there was no leak. Apparently, the water pressure on the closed connection caused the leak.
When I queried with the chairperson of our EC concerning the damage to the cupboard I was advised that the damage is not the responsibility of the OC but mine and that I should rely on my contents insurance.
After reading your Forum I can see that this has been a very common response from ECs and others but is incorrect, in so far as, if damage in a lot has been caused by a common property fault then it is the OCs responsibility and not the lot owners. Is my interpretation correct?
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Replies
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Hi Alfred
Yes.
Further, your contents insurance policy would not cover common property items. However, this would come under the OC’s insurance policy altho the excess may make claiming uncommercial.
Regards
Chris Kerin
Partner – Building Defects
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Chris,
I don't wish to question a Lawyer with your experience, but I have always acted on the premise that items such as electrical sub-boards and water supply isolating taps that are within the Lot and which service only that Lot are the Proprietors' responsibility; not Common Property.
Am I in error, or have I misinterpreted your response?
Hi Whale
Ultimately you need to look at the strata plan to determine this issue.
However, if the sub-boards and isolating taps are within the lot and are for the exclusive use of the lot, you are correct.
I read Alfred’s facts as locating the sub-boards and isolating taps wholly within common property.
Regards
Chris KerinPartner – Building Defects
———————————-Alfred,
I don't think that the conclusion is the one you want, but the facts of the matter are that the shut-off tap is yours, the rectification of the consequential damage to the cupboard is your responsibility, and the O/C should have billed you for the repairs undertaken by their plumber.
Sorry …. but I guess you're in front as plumbers don't work cheaply!
Can I add a query / thought?
What wall are we talking about? What wall is the valve in or on?
Is the pipe and/or valve BODY inside the wall itself (ie actually inside the WALL – possibly a common property all – and not actually inside the lot)?
Or is the whole of the valve (and possibly some or all of the pipework either side of the valve body) visible and physically within the lot?
For instance, there are many cases were the valve body is inside the wall with only the valve stem and handle sticking out of the wall, and to get at and fix / replace the valve you would then have to chip away concrete or brickwork etc etc.
So, to my way of thinking, the problem would be with “the inner workings” of the valve and so, depending on which wall it is, the precise location of the valve body (surface-mounted or encased) could potentially make it an OC issue?
PK
PK – so here's another one of those complications that we discussed in another post to Flat Chat .
If there's one thing that I've learn't about operational strata management, it's that there will almost always be conflicts (within the interpretation of the rules) that can get in the way of resolution; if we let them.
Alfred's original query was about a water supply isolating tap to his Lot that leaked and the water damaged his cupboard, and I believe the salient point to be that the tap controlled the supply to his Lot alone; irrespective of where bits of that valve were or weren't.
Discussions between Lot Owners, Executive Committees, Strata Managers et al concerning the complications such as what part of the tap leaked, how much of the tap was within the air space of the Lot and how much was within the wall, and whether that wall was a common or internal wall will just see a continuance of the discussions – possibly in the CTTT (heaven forbid).
I'm very much into a logical, reasonable, agreeable, logically correct, and consistently applied (in the Plan) resolutions to matters such as Alfred raised; I think that's what the Forum achieved.
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