Removal of plants and planter boxes.

mattb · 2012-05-10T08:51:53+10:00

It is unlikely you will get compensation, and the sad reality is, all builders and strata managers will tell you that planter boxes will fail, cause damp etc, and push for their removal. The EC also need to maintain the building, and getting the builder to pay for it is certainly sound financial sense. Also, there is no way of satisfactorily fixing inbuilt planter boxes without removing the contents. For your predicament: are these trees visible to other areas of the building (especially common areas)? If so, then you can argue that the amenity of this has a material value on the price of all the units which will be difficult to replace. The usual number bandied about by real estate agents is that mature, healthy plantings add approximately $5K to the sale price; this may or may not translate to $5K per unit, but it is a start. As you say the builders warranty is almost up, the trees would have been in situ for 7 years, and, assuming they were purchased as semi-advanced specimens are probably no more than 10 years old. In other words, what you are about to loose cannot be replaced in under a decade. There is good news: as the trees have always been in a planter box, they can be relatively easily transplanted. It is also autumn, which is the prefect time to move large plants. Having explained the value of the trees to your EC and the other owners, I would ask the EC to get an professional arborist in ahead of the builder to prune the roots and prepare the trees for transplant. Then, get the EC to build a new non-permanent planter box over the newly sealed, tiled area, and that will go some way to solving your issues. If the EC don't agree to this, then you will need to drum support up within your building to get the OC to force the issue.

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08/05/2012 at 1:00 pm #8132
pertovski
Flatchatter
I hope someone can advise, our EC has determined that planter boxes belonging to 6 units must be removed (block of 40) as they are leaking through the slab into car park below. They are paying for the waterproofing and tiling on the exposed surface. The walls are common property but the contents are owned by the unit holders. The beds contain fully grown trees, of many metres tall, and shrubs. The builders warrantee is about to end and the developer has said he will repair the planters but the long term view is they will fail again in the future so it is better to remove them now. On purchase the value of these plantings played a role in the purchase price and with their removal will devalue the property, are we entitled to receive compensation for their removal?
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10/05/2012 at 8:51 am #15492
mattb
It is unlikely you will get compensation, and the sad reality is, all builders and strata managers will tell you that planter boxes will fail, cause damp etc, and push for their removal. The EC also need to maintain the building, and getting the builder to pay for it is certainly sound financial sense. Also, there is no way of satisfactorily fixing inbuilt planter boxes without removing the contents.

For your predicament: are these trees visible to other areas of the building (especially common areas)?

If so, then you can argue that the amenity of this has a material value on the price of all the units which will be difficult to replace. The usual number bandied about by real estate agents is that mature, healthy plantings add approximately $5K to the sale price; this may or may not translate to $5K per unit, but it is a start.

As you say the builders warranty is almost up, the trees would have been in situ for 7 years, and, assuming they were purchased as semi-advanced specimens are probably no more than 10 years old. In other words, what you are about to loose cannot be replaced in under a decade.

There is good news: as the trees have always been in a planter box, they can be relatively easily transplanted. It is also autumn, which is the prefect time to move large plants. Having explained the value of the trees to your EC and the other owners, I would ask the EC to get an professional arborist in ahead of the builder to prune the roots and prepare the trees for transplant. Then, get the EC to build a new non-permanent planter box over the newly sealed, tiled area, and that will go some way to solving your issues.

If the EC don’t agree to this, then you will need to drum support up within your building to get the OC to force the issue.
11/05/2012 at 2:51 pm #15496
pertovski
Flatchatter
Chat-starter
Thanks for your thoughts, very valuable to have another perspective. The plans are well advanced and slated to commence in the next week. The situation is that out of the approx 45 units, only 7 units are affected, of those two have very small courtyards and welcome the additional space, they only have hedges and no trees. Out of the remaining 5 only 3 have any substantial plantings, one of those three wants the planters out, so only really two out of the 7 would prefer to keep the plantings. This against the interest of the 45 others who want them gone. I have been told we are being ‘selfish’ to consider we might be disadvantaged by this action. I suppose I was trying to get some indication of our legal position, as there seems to be no real willingness of anyone else to consider this from our perspective. I don’t really want to get our lawyer involved but how else do I find out our rights in this matter and then have them fairly represented.
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