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Hello, I would appreciate some assistance please. This is a curly one. My son has autism. He owns a unit. It has been rented out for 12 years. In the hope that one day he would be able to live there. Tenant noticed Tiles lifting off the shower floor. Strata did not take action for many weeks. Waterproofing had failed ,turned to black mould. Tenant got very ill ,gave notice ,moved out.
Strata had expert scientist test showed unfit for habitation and Poisonous mould that can kill humans. Asked Strata Manager for Weeks to make insurance claim. Kept saying they did ,when they had not. I filed strata insurance claim.
In the meantime, Strata sent a plumber into the unit without our knowledge or authorisation and tore apart the shower ,the shower , screen all of the tiles and the black mould that was there, allowing a contractor into a poisonous space. I put a stop to Access because it’s highly dangerous and I’m trying to get the Place remediated for the mould.
Strata Manager and strata committee shut the insurance claim and said they would pay to fix the shower. That has gone on since July last year. It is still not fixed. They had only quoted at February 24 to re-tile up to ankle height , whereas the waterproofing needs to go right up the wall.
Strata went and got a substandard mould tester to say the building is not poisonous. Turns out the roof is leaking and that has been causing most of the Black mould That is also in the ceilings. All of the internal walls are wet with 14% moisture. I made a second strata roof claim and the strata committee shut that as well but not before the insurer said it is due to lack of maintenance.
A capital Works report from 4 years ago was allowing only $6800 (saved over 10 years)to replace a roof that cost $100,000. Strata Manager and strata committee have totally mismanaged This for 12 years. I filed urgently in NCAT. They did nothing at the interim hearing except set down an expert conclave. I prepared 1600 pages and they set that aside and said redo it for a full hearing ! It’s exhausting. I’ve been working on this for 9 months..
In the meantime, I’ve written to the Strata Manager multiple times proving all the lost rental and they have just kept saying no . they also say every time “you have not made a formal claim to the owners corporation “. The Strata Manager for the owners corporation no matter what I do they shut me down and pretend like nothing is wrong and that I am hysterical.
The apartment was worth $570,000 now it’s worth $400,000 with a leaking roof ,wet walls , poisonous mould, a torn apart shower And if I try to sell that I would have to disclose it’s contaminated with poisonous mould. You have any ideas about the way forward? I have roof quotes of $100,000, it went to a meeting ,people only agreed to raising $20,000 but of course you can’t pay for only part of a roof .
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I had hoped someone else would have jumped in on this, but here goes. I think you are fighting the wrong battles with the wrong people.
Firstly, this doesn’t sound like an insurance issue to me. It’s a failure of common property which is usually not covered by insurance.
So you have two parallel routes you might take.
You could seek orders at NCAT for your owners corporation to fix the problem – forget all the personal stuff. They have a responsibility under the law that’s as clear as day. You will have to go to mediation first and if they then say they’ll do it, don’t leave without a written undertaking to get it done in a certain time frame.
Then you could take a civil case against the OC for the loss of rent.
But before you do any of that you really should consider consulting an experienced strata lawyer.
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.
Further to Jimmy’s recommendation, before you speak to an experienced strata lawyer, organise a log of events:
What happened
When it happened
What the tenant did; what your son did; what you did; what the strata manager did (or didn’t do) etc
Include copies of emails, letters and any notes you have from your son, the tenant, the strata manager, servicemen etc
If you can get a letter from a doctor as to the deleterious situation in the unit, then that’s a big fat feather in your cap
You must tell the lawyer your story with as much evidence to back your allegations.
One more thing: Jimmy says that if the OC agrees at mediation to do as you want, then get it in writing. Having been there done that, I did get it in writing and the OC never followed through. Amazing! They knew I’d have to go to NCAT to get anything from them (and I did) but they also knew I would have to apply, rewrite my documentation etc and NCAT would not hear the case for at least 2 months from when I filed. Often closer to 4 mths.
At NCAT I got the order I wanted, but not the $202 application fee reimbursed by the do-nothing committee.
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