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Our building is being renovated and several apartments are yet to have any safety railings installed on their balconies. The work is on hold for an indefinate period. There is a temporary partition (with door) giving onto the these unfinished and unprotected balconies. It seems the temporary doors don’t lock.
For several weeks now the owners/tenants/friends/squatters (don’t really know who they are) have been gathering on these unprotected balconies, admiring the view, having drinks, having BBQ’s, storing furniture!, etc. This is a several storey building! Some look set to have a party on NYE!
If someone injured themself (or died) by falling off one of these unprotected balconies would the owners corporation be liable?
Thank you
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I am not a lawyer but I think the OC could be liable, especially if the person who fell was a child or some other person for whom it could not be argued that they fully understood the risk. Even if the OC were not liable, it is clearly highly irresponsible.
If the OC has engaged a builder to do the work to complete the balcony, and the builder is leaving the balcony essentially unprotected, then the OC should make an urgent enquiry to make sure the builder’s liability insurance is up to date and to insist that the doors be secured. Do it in writing so the OC has some evidence that it tried to do the right thing.
A TV and sofa, and stored goods are bad enough – but when there is no safety rail.
If the strata committee is aware of this, they need to send notes (or stick them on doors) telling people that they mustn’t use their balconies until they are safe and until such times as they are made safe, they do so at their own risk. The balconies are more than likely common property – that means the owners corp is responsible.
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It’s an unsafe worksite.
This is how I’d handle it:
Call SafeWork NSW ph. 13 10 50 and inform them of the immediate danger this unsafe worksite poses to the public, especially children.
Request a site visit by a Workplace safety inspector.
Complete the call with an email to the department officer with explanatory photos.
Copy in the Owners Corporation secretary and ask them to notify their insurer under their duty of continuous disclosure.
I am very puzzled by this – the builders are responsible to maintain a safe site. Whenever we have done work the builders have had conniptions if there was any breach of site security.
JeremyS is right, contact Safework NSW urgently.
If there is a DA then the council is concerned and there would be conditions attached including permitted access.
The council is probably sticking it’s head in the sand (or worse) like many councils when it comes to development. Let me guess they said it’s a private certifier issue? Let me guess the people doing the work also work for council?
The EC contacting work safe would demonstrate an attempt to ensure safety. I think it should be proactive by also directly contacting the builders telling them to secure the balconies and also by putting notices on the doors of every unit with a balcony.
It could also be useful to rope off the area below the balconies if the builders have not done so (as they should have). The danger is not just to a person falling but also to anyone underneath any kind of falling object.