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I live in an old building. There are no isolation valves in apartment. I had leak under sink. First plumber comes and says he cannot fix as water to building must be turned off. $90. I call Strata who send out a company registered as provider. They turned water off and give me a report stating ” Removed cistern cock from 19 BPS and flexi hose as the flexi hose was leaking due to previous work in the building ( when the water was turned on the tenant was not home causing a high pressure of air to split the hose which is why it was replaced). Cost $275.
My questions are:
1. Is is my responsibility to pay all costs here? Why or why not?
Thank you.
Nice Landlord.
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Replies
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I am assuming you are in NSW and I’ll let someone more familiar with things there give a more confident answer. My guess is that the lot/unit owner is responsible for anything on a branch of the pipe that only services your unit. I expect the OC is responsible for the part of the pipe that provides a service to multiple units.
I would suggest, regardless of the answer, that you propose that the OC resolve to put in an isolation valve for each unit at the point where responsibility passes to the unit owner, or the nearest practical point to that. The cost would come out of levies but would be less than if you all did it separately. If not everyone wants to do that, you could work out who does want it and arrange to share the cost of having one plumber’s visit to do as many as want to take part.
I was initially confused about the link between a “sink” and a “cistern cock’ but it seems that the sink was in the bathroom as opposed to in your property’s kitchen, where those flexible / braided hoses that many plumbers use with gay abandon are regularly problematic, particularly on hotwater services.
The first thing that you could do is to have a plumber replace all flexible / braided hoses within your property with annealed copper tubing with flared connections, and then as PeterC suggested (post #2) approach your Owners Corporation (secretary or strata manager) about its installation of isolation valves on the common water supply to every Lot in the Plan.
Depending upon the reaction, you may need to submit a Motion for inclusion on the Agenda for the next General Meeting in order to have the matter more widely discussed and voted upon, where owners might consider the inconvenience and other impacts of the water supply to the entire building being turned-off on every occasion that plumbing work is necessary within a Lot.
The plumber’s report that the fault in your lot arose for works earlier undertaken somewhere else on the property may well support your Motion, but I wouldn’t be inclined to also rely upon that to seek a reimbursement of your costs by the Owners Corporation (O/C).
Why?
In part because PeterC is correct concerning the demarcation of responsibility between you and the O/C, further due to the long established convention that Owners are responsible for the maintenance and repair of any service (e.g. water & electricity) that’s physically within their lot, and the failure rate of those flexible / braided hoses irrespective of any other works being undertaken in the building.
If your committee does drag it heels over upgrading the water suppy and stop cocks, point out that according to insurers CHU (who sponsor this website ) anecdotally, 80 percent of damages claims are caused by water leaks.
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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