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15-18 year old building; 5 units. Shoddy workmanship. Leaks like a sieve. Waterproofing membranes have failed in planters, balconies and courtyards. So far all the leaks have been from one unit to another or on common property so the Owners Corporation / Body Corporate have repaired the leaks. Builder out of business and well beyond statutory claim limits.
An owner now reports that the waterproofing membrane in their shower recess has failed, which is not surprising if it was done to the same standard as the waterproofing of the rest of the building. Quotes to repair it from “experts” indicate that it is waterproof membrane causing issue and not anything the owner has done ie no inadequate or failure of tiling/grouting, no unauthorised renovations etc. But damage in unit is all internal – within the lot.
Owner suggests that because it is a failure of the original building work (as with all the other leaks) the Body Corporate might like to chip in to fix it. I (as another unit owner – one of only 5) have enormous sympathy for their situation as it’s the same sort of leak that has already been accepted as the Body Corporate’s responsibility, it has just occurred in a different space.
What should we do? Stick to the letter of the law or accept we are all in the same (leaking) boat and share the cost?
Thanks
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Hello Tess
You say this is not in common property. If it’s an issue within the floor of the shower recess then it is common property, and any issues within the external walls of the unit are also common property. The original tiling would be considered part of the wall or floor, so an Owners Corporation responsibility in those cases. There are some specialist firms who do this sort of work with a guaranteed result, we’ve had a couple of units with this problem successfully treated, at owners corporation expense within our strata.
I agree with DaveB.
Slightly off topic, writing “Failure of waterproof membranes all over building – should owners be responsible for non-common property failure?” is not a heading, it’s a novel.
Please try to keep headings short and to the point (I have fixed this one). That said, it’s not as bad as posters who simply put “Strata Problem” or “Executive Committee” as their headings.
I mean, what else are we here for?
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.
Tess said… I’m presuming it would only be an Owners Corporation responsibility if the wall was part of common property?
Correct, and as Dave said only if the tiles are the original ones fitted at the time of the building’s construction, because if the bathroom’s been since renovated then everything comprising those works is the current Lot Owner’s responsibility.
Tess said… water leaking from shower recess through wall into bedroom in same unit.
This is the Lot Owner’s responsibility, and before someone picks it up, there are a couple of provisos here that I’ve not discussed because they’re uncommon, and would only serve to confuse at this stage.
So that’s the letter-of-the-law approach, but it seems to me that as your Owners Corporation (O/C) has in the past accepted responsibility for similar leakage problems, perhaps it could do the same with this one by offering to share the costs with the Owner concerned; only once though and on the record lest your O/C sets a long-term precedent
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