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Did you gain approval from your Owners Corporation before carrying out bathroom renovations?
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strata worrier said:
Yes we did, although they subsequently tried to record at an EC meeting that we did not. However, I had and produced an email which confirmed that they had approved the reno.
Your EC could be like mine where an email is not considered to be “written”. I thought I had been providing a written request via email for renovations to my villa, but I had to send a letter printed on paper and signed in ink before my requests were considered.
Well you have done the right thing by asking for permission to do this renovation. And, I am no expert, but I do believe that in this age of internet/sms etc, that these forms of electronic communication can be deemed “written”. To do the wrong thing via email can get you into a lot of trouble, so by doing the right thing – I don't see how it cannot be classed as “in writing”. Though perhaps some stratas do not see it that way and want the bic biro signature on the bottom of the paper. This complex would be happy if anyone would actually ask permission in any way shape or form!
I cannot for some reason access the start of this thread? but believe I read that others have had similar problems with their renos? With the new fitting not fitting with the old? In that case, I would think that it would benefit all if something was done in all units to ensure that any future renos would not encounter this same problem. Would not be good for the complex as a whole for future residents to find that there was leaking plumbing due to old fixtures not matching new! I personally would not like to find that someone putting in a new loo above may affect me below!
This is strata worrier's original post.
We recently renovated in our just bought 60s apartment in Sydney's eastern suburbs. Upgrading the bathroom we replaced the old, leaky toilet with a new one. The new toilet never seems to flush through properly and is subject to continual backflow, which becomes foul when we are away for a few days. We have had two plumbers look at the problem, our own and strata manager's. Our plumber says the problem is due to the branch stacks behind the bathroom wall not being angled high enough for the new toilet, a case of the new standard toilets not marrying up with the old plumbing. The strata plumber told our strata managers that the problem was due to an incorrect install, something the strata plumber supposedly denied when our plumber contacted him to discuss it. Either way, I am confident it is not an incorrect install and that it is a branch stack problem. (The stacks have been blasted recently). Apparently it has occurred in a number of other units which have changed over to modern toilets. The strata managers insist this is our problem and refuse to get a third plumber to inspect it as suggested by the dept fair trading. Does anyone out there have experience or knowledge of what the strata law is when a lot owner's new, regulation toilet doesn't work with old plumbing behind the (strata) wall?
And this is what the Act says about electronic documents:
22 Electronic transmission of documents
(1) Documents relating to a meeting of the owners corporation (such as proxies) may be transmitted to the secretary of the owners corporation by facsimile.
(2) In this clause, facsimile includes any electronic communication device that transmits information in a form from which written material is capable of being reproduced with or without the aid of any other device or article.
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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