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Topic
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After many months of requests (from mid 2010) it was finally deemed that there was a problem (approximately August 2010) with porous roof tiles and the roof points to my villa's roof. This roof problem caused water damage and mould in my villa. This roof restoration was not completed (to all 8 villas) until February 2011 so during the time I was pushing for investigation of the suspected roofing problem and the completion of this job my villa was further vulnerable to inclement weather.
During the time that I was pushing to have this roof problem investigated (being on the Executive myself I was told by another Executive member that all my unit needed was a few replacement roof tiles and pointed to where a few were kept indicating that I personally should replace the damaged roof tiles).
As a result of the moisture in my villa's roof cavity my lounge and dining room ceiling dropped and you could visibly see the guttering effect caused by the moisture. In February 2011 I pushed to have my ceiling repaired as the damage had been caused by common property issue.
The repairs carried out consisted of my ceiling being nailed up and the ceiling guttering filled and sandered back.
Therein lies my problem. These repairs were carried out inside my unit and the nails, filler and sandering was carried out over my paintwork but our Strata Managers are telling me that the paintwork is my responsibility. I would also like to add that I was also told that I should claim on my household contents insurance and that if they were to paint my ceiling then it would cause a precident.
I feel that my unit should be repaired to predamaged condition as the damage was a result of common property issues, including the painting of my ceiling which is now two-toned due to the filler lying over my internal ceiling paintwork.
I'd really appreciate others' opinion before I proceed to mediation.
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I don't know how many times we get this issue and I wish the Institute of Strata Titles Managementor some other body would get the message out to the strata managers who don't get it.
It's really quite simple – a failure by the EC to maintain common property has caused damage to your property. The repairs to your property have caused further damage (to the paint work). Therefor they have to pay for returning it to its normal state.
Yes, normally the paintwork inside your home is your responsibility but not when it's been damaged by the Owners Corporation.
They did the damage to the paintwork – they pay for it to be reinstated. It couldn't be simpler. If your strata manager is a member of the ISTM they can call them up and confirm this. If your strata manager isn't a member of ISTM, sack them. They sound like cowboys and are probably responsible for the problem getting so bad in the first place.
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.
I mentioned this matter to another owners. He said that our Strata Manager has told him that our insurance doesn't cover internal paintwork for any reason, and that an owner has to claim it on their own contents insurance. Could this be right?
Well, it could be right that your insurance doesn't cover it, but that doesn't mean it's not the Owner's Corporation's responsibility. If you bash into another vehicle in an uninsured car – all that means is that they take their damages claim out of your bank account rather than an insurance company's. It doesn't mean there's no claim.
There might, however, be a by-law specific to your block to the effect that owners have to look after their paintwork regardless of who causes the damage but it doesn't sound very likely. I reckon your strata manager should be tasked with getting you better insurance cover.
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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