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Hi,
Just moved into a newly built strata unit as owner last month. In the time since I've noticed a few issues, mostly minor (e.g. water leaking between shower frame and floor – but I have had an intermittent issue with water leaking from an external wall into my carpets.
In order to get everything fixed up – I've approached the developers, who have passed me on to the builders. The builders do everything verbally and are trying their best to pass it back to the developers.
I've been trying to read up on non-structural defects and getting them fixed but I'm not sure what my options are to get action taken – it's a >3storey development built this year. Any advice on which bodies I can complain to in order to resolve this? Or what laws I'm covered by? Thanks!
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Basically, you need to get a surveyor into your apartment to itemise every non structural defect that needs to be rectified in your lot. You then need to make a claim against the developer and explain that you are aware that recent changes in the law mean they can't pass the buck to the builder.
You also need to ask your Executive Committee what they are doing about non-structural defects in the short term and structural defects in general. This is very important because if there are defects in common property that aren't attended to, it will affect the value of your unit just as much as if they defects were in your lot alone.
Don't let the EC pass the buck to the developer/insurer/builder. They represent the Owners Coprporation and the OC has an absolute legal responsibility to maintain and repair common property regardless of who ultimately foots the bill.
If you don't get anywhere in either of this areas, talk to a specialist strata lawyer about what your next options are.
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.
According to the Act:
initial period, in relation to an owners corporation, means the period commencing on the day on which that owners corporation is constituted and ending on the day on which there are owners of lots the subject of the strata scheme concerned (other than the original owner) the sum of whose unit entitlements is at least one-third of the aggregate unit entitlement.
In other words, the initial period ends when one-third of units have been sold (give or take a few big or little ones to make up the one-third of Unit Entitlements). The developer then has two weeks in which to call the first AGM.
Importantly, at that point the voting power of the developer is reduced to one-third of their holding until such times as they have sold more than half their units. Also, the developers are restricted in contracts that they can sign in this initial period as they all have to be approved (or not) by the owners at the first AGM.
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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