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What responsibility does a developer who is a part owner in a scheme have to follow up on having defects corrected within the warranty period. Five owners in a seven member scheme are now attempting to have defects rectified as the period draws to a close but the developer, who is married to the builder’s sister, has made no effort. Our concern is that the minority owner may at some point in the future expect to have repairs that should have been rectified under warranty later paid for by the Owners Corporation’s Sinking Fund.
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I would have thought that 5 out of 7 is enough to strenuously pursue all options to ensure defects are fixed. It should not matter that 2 of 7 happen to be owned by the developer. The 5 of 7 would be acting in the best interests of the whole Owners Corporation, regardless of who happen to be owners at this particular moment.
I would be making sure the 5 of 7 all fully understand the importance of getting defects rectified now. Acting dispassionately in the interest of the OC is your duty, even if at a personal level you might get on just fine with your neighbour who happens to have been the developer.
Agree with Peter. You have two years in which to claim for “non-major” defects which can be very substantial but fall short of meaning the building or part of it isn’t fit for occupation. Call a meeting, get a defects survey done and make your claim.
Forget friendships and other relationships. A responsible and honest developer should be urging you to do this, rather than letting the clock run out so that their repair bill is reduced by 70 percent (with you and your other neighbours picking up the slack).
By the way, the developer has no special powers after the first AGM of the owners corp. They can use their votes like any other owners but their roles, as owners and developers, are quite separate.
If the developer has hi-jacked the committee, get enough signatures (in your case, probably two owners as long as their unit entitlements add up to a quarter of the total) to call an Extraordinary General Meeting to get this moving.
Remember the owners (in general meeting) are the bosses of the executive committee, not the other way round.
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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