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Hi there,
I have a had a few headaches with the exterior wall of the property and looking for advice on some potential structural issues. I am a first time home owner and have little knowlege being a landlord as I’ve always rented.
I’m keen to know what type of experts I should engage to inspect, assess extent of structural issues, determine root causes and suggest remediation options if any are required.
I purchased a ground floor apartment (2A) of a ‘boutique’ sized strata complex in August 2021. The apartments were built in 2014 and lower than three storeys in height.
There is crack to the exterior wall of my open air courtyard extending from the apartment above which runs down to my apartment. The crack has caused water entering the exterior envelope of the wall into my bedroom.. I have enclosed a photo of it.
I called OC to report the water seepage and sent photos of the affected area in my bedroom and explained that on two occasions there have been pools of water appear after heavy rainfall despite the window being completely closed.
The property manager said the wall in question isn’t a common wall, it’s a wall that is exterior faced therefore they are not responsible for fixing this and would be at my own expense. They said that they could request a plumber on my behalf to come out but that I would be held liable for the call out fee/invoice. I have asked them if they could provide the plan of the subdivision referencing that this wall is not common property but I’m struggling to understand how to read the plan.
Things to note:
The builders came out to patch this crack up with the previous landlord in early 2014 when they first moved in.
I purchased this property in August 2021. This development is no longer under builders warranty insurance as this has expired.
There is mould forming around the skirting boards including damp patches on my bedroom fall. I believe this is due to the crack to the exterior wall but also believe that the window flashings were installed incorrectly, allowing water to find its way between the outer and inner skin of the wall as ingress always takes place on colder nights and when raining.
I pay body corporate fees which includes Body Corporate insurance but apparently the cover does not cover the maintenance of the wall, as the insurance only covers one off events such as fire, flood & earthquakes.
My concern is, who is responsible for this being fixed. Is this a OC issue or is the wall in question my responsibility. I look forward to learning of your thoughts.- This topic was modified 1 year, 10 months ago by .
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