Flat Chat Strata Forum Common Property Current Page

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  • #8996
    Jimmy-T
    Keymaster

      QUESTION: We own an investment property and for the past year two sets of tenants have advised the managing agent that water is penetrating through the bedroom windows in heavy storms and that the sliding door often cannot be locked once opened.

      The strata agent says the executive committee member (we only have one) has stated that they are not willing to pay for a repair.

      Seeing that this is having an impact on my tenants, we’ve already lost one, do I have any recourse? – chilliblue, via Flat Chat Forum.

      ANSWER:  Firstly, it depends on how old the block is.  In NSW, if it was registered before 1974, the sliding doors are probably your problem. The windows are probably common property

      If it was registered after that, they are probably all common property in which case the Owners Corporation would have a legal obligation to maintain and repair them.

      Apply to Fair Trading for mediation – an obligatory first step – where your one-man EC will doubtless be told he will probably lose at the CTTT when you seek a Section 62 order forcing him to fix the problems.

      Any half-decent strata manager would already have told them this, so having a close look at who your strata manager is and why they are giving you bad advice is something else you should think about.

      This step-by-step guide to pursuing NSW CTTT complaints includes links to the relevant forms.

      Other states have different interpretations of who is responsible for what so if you have a similar problem and you aren’t in NSW, you can find out who to contact here on the Flat Chat website.

      You can read Chilliblue’s full posting and other responses HERE.

      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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    • #19351
      Jimmy-T
      Keymaster
      Chat-starter

        JimmyT said:

        Firstly, it depends on how old the block is.  In NSW, if it was registered before 1974, the windows and sliding doors are probably your problem.

        At the risk of starting an argument with myself, I have amended the above statement in the answer below because I think it wasn’t precisely correct.

        In 1974, strata law was changed.  Previously the line defining common property was in the middle of structures (such as external walls).  Thus the balcony doors were considered lot property because the outer edge of the balcony was the common property line, but windows – well, it depends where they were.  

        If they were on the outside of the wall, they would probably be common property.  If they were recessed behind the mid point of the wall, they might well be lot property.  Oh, and if the original plan defined them as one thing or the other, that’s what they would still be now.

        Simple? Of course not, but as a general rule of thumb, pre-1974 balcony doors probably are lot property and pre ’74 external windows probably aren’t.

        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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      Flat Chat Strata Forum Common Property Current Page