Landlords caught in repairs trap

Which law do I break?  That’s the dilemma facing landlords whose tenants are suffering  because of a failure of owners corporations to repair and maintain common property.

“I keep having to get the ceiling fixed or replaced in the second bedroom and my tenant can’t occupy that room, “ says one landlord in the Flat Chat forum.

“It’s because the roof itself leaks and the strata don’t respond to my requests to get it fixed. What can I do?

“This is keeping me awake and costing lots of money! I have landlord insurance but I’m told it won’t help in this circumstance. If I get it fixed myself am I likely to get in any kind of trouble?”

The answer is that, yes, it may well get you into trouble but you have to look after your property if no one else will.  And the trouble will probably be worth it in the long run if you don’t have time to take the legal route.

Strata and tenancy laws vary across Australia but they all agree on two things – the body corporate must maintain common property and landlords have to keep their rentals in a habitable condition.

They also pretty much forbid individual owners from doing anything to common property without permission.  So what’s a good landlord  who’s trying to do the right thing supposed to do? The legal route may take longer but the issues are clear.

In NSW Section 62 of the strata Act says: “An owners corporation must properly maintain and keep in a state of good and serviceable repair the common property …”

These are obligations without limit.  If the owners corp doesn’t have the money to carry out repairs, then they have to find it.  And it doesn’t matter they are involved in a dispute over the repairs – a defects claim, for instance – they still have to do the repairs, especially if delays could cause further damage.

So you could chance your arm, pay for the repairs yourself and then bill the Owners Corp for the amount you spend.  But the correct way to deal with this is to write to your owners corp and/or strata manager telling them that they are breaking the law.

The letter may get a bit more attention if it comes from a lawyer and should contain a deadline saying that if you don’t receive written adviceby a specified date about how and when they plan to effect the repairs you will apply for orders from NCAT in NSW, forcing them to carry out the repairs.

You might add that you will bill them for all costs caused by their failure to act. You’ll find links to the official complaints processes below.

A version of this article has also appeared on the Sydney Morning Herald’s online pages and in the print edition of Domain.

The choice between going down the legal route depends how likely you think it is to rain any time soon – there’s a process to be followed and you won’t get an instant answer. Perhaps scaring them into action with threats of legal and financial consequences may be the way to go.

Meanwhile, long term you should also seriously think about how to get rid of the wet willies on your executive committee and the strata managers they employ who are collectively allowing common property to deteriorate in a way that can only damage everyone’s interests.

For information and the relevant forms  go to the second part of this post HERE.
Tenants can find out more about getting repairs done  HERE .