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We have a unit in a large block of units. We have our electrical board inside our unit and we fully accept any responsibility if something goes wrong there. The electrical distribution board is in a common area which is maintained by the BC. Our electricity has failed in our unit and our electrician has checked the distribution board and there is nothing wrong with our fuse in that board either. He said there is no electricity going into the distribution board with our fuse in it. Who is responsible to ensure there is electricity to the unit. I know we are responsible within our unit, but I thought the common area distribution board is the responsibility of the BC even though the electricity is distributed through this to the individual units.
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He said there is no electricity going into the distribution board with our fuse in it.
This is a bit confusing. I’m guessing you mean there is no power coming from the common property distribution board to your power board, in which case this is almost certainly an owners corporation responsibility.
In an emergency, especially if the owners corp, strata manager or building manager has shown no urgency in investigating the problem, you can organise the repairs yourself and then charge them back to the owners corp. They may refuse to pay because you have not followed correct procedure, but if you have given them every opportunity to fix the problem, and they have been slow to respond, you will probably be compensated eventually.
On a very basic level, the OC is responsible for electrical wiring up until it emerges from common property walls in your apartment (e.g into your lot’s fusebox).
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.
Not so quick.
I agree that the wiring up to the lot distribution board is OC responsibility. However if the lot owner ( and I’m not suggesting this is the case here) has overloaded the circuit, that’s his responsibility.
I think in this case it would require a report from the electrician as to the cause. From there the lot owner and OC can agree who pays.
As JT suggested, get it repaired by your electrician immediately and have the cost discussions later.
I agree that the wiring up to the lot distribution board is OC responsibility. However if the lot owner ( and I’m not suggesting this is the case here) has overloaded the circuit, that’s his responsibility.
On re-reading the original post, it says: ” Our electricity has failed in our unit and our electrician has checked the distribution board and there is nothing wrong with our fuse in that board either. He said there is no electricity going into the distribution board with our fuse in it.”
If there is no electricity going into the distribution board, and the fuse from the distribution board is intact, it’s almost impossible for that to be the lot resident’s fault. In any case, the fix will determine who is responsible and, as we all agree, the priority is to get the supply reconnected then worry about who pays the bill thereafter.
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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