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Topic
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Hello, I live a a building with approx 70 apartments.Some of the apartments, but not all, have there balconies enclosed by sliding plantation shutters which were attached to the building at construction. Over time the internal mechanisim of some of these shutters has become jammed, or difficult to adjust so the shutters are no longer able to be adjusted easily and are stuck in one position, and in some cases where they would appear to have been forced some of the individual slats have been broken off.
The sliding mechanisim which is attached to the building and encases the tracks that the shutters roll along are still working. So the shutters can still be moved along there tracks.
There are 2 questions: If they actually still work by sliding along the track are they considered broken if the slats are just stuck in the one position and an owner advises they cannot adjust there slats? Or are plantation shutters considered to be like a blind which is attached to a window and not the OC'c responsibility?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
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Replies
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Davidt,
These shutters on balconies are a serious problem with many of the new strata buildings, in that the are typically accessible through the individual apartment, may be inside the lot as defined by the strata plan, or outside the lot, but are affixed to the building so mostly are deemed common property, but you need to check for any exclusive use by-laws.
A lot of the time the suppliers of these louvers don’t stay in business for long, so getting parts for them is a real issue. The companies in many instances are not licensed for doing residential building works, per the home building act.
Any warranties on these louver systems contain conditions regarding regular periodic maintenance being carried out, and if it’s not done, the contractors deny any warranty claim, even if they have failed to complete the maintenance under a contract with them, due to the issues of access into individual apartments.
If the louvers are not working as they were when they were originally installed, they are broken.
In most instances these louvers are considered common property, so that they are kept well maintained, preventing issues with the external appearance of the building.
Mr S
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