NSW Carpets flooded due to Strata Defect

Discussion in 'Property Management' started by Lizzie, 3rd Apr, 2020.

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  1. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

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    My managing agent has been trying to deal with this with the Strata Company, as to who pays for repairs, but the Strata Company and being absolute deadbeats.

    The unit is in a block of 10, on the third floor of a three story walkup. The unit was flooded in a recent storm, 3 weeks ago, due to defective guttering that had recently been "repaired" by the Strata. The tenant reported on the Wednesday evening that the guttering was overflowing straight into the unit and that water was halfway up the skirting boards - carpet guy went out on Thursday morning and said the carpets already smelt rotting and couldn't be saved - carpets were removed on the Friday and it took until mid the following week for the concrete subfloor to dry enough to lay new carpets.

    During this - the Strata managing agency was contacted on the Thursday morning, when we were advised the carpets had to come up, and on Friday they sent someone out to assess. He acknowledged the issue and was supposed to report back to Strata. Managing agent heard no further. When the invoice from the carpet guy came in, she forwarded it to the Strata agent who is now denying all knowledge - claims the works weren't lodged and approved by Body Corporate prior to going ahead (which can take weeks) - and that it's "not their problem".

    I refunded my tenant a weeks rent for the inconvenience, and am not seeking for this to be reimbursed, but I do believe that Strata is 100% responsible for the carpet payment. Sheesh - I pay them enough a year to cover this sort of thing, as it is.

    Thoughts? Tenant and managing agent have photographs of the gutter overflowing and the water depth in the unit.
     
  2. wylie

    wylie Moderator Staff Member

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    Can you push the strata managing agency who already acknowledged the issue to push the issue on this?

    Sounds like you've done everything you could do. The fact the agency hasn't done what they said they'd do should be their problem, not yours.
     
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  3. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

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    I agree - and the carpet guy is stuck in the middle not getting paid.

    The agency are denying it's their problem and that it needed to be approved by BC before "any" action was taken - even tho the rep that went out (who's name I haven't got) said it was a BC/strata issue on the day.

    My managing agent and the (bleep) chick at the Strata agency have just being going around and around in circles - with mine demanding that it is a Strata issue caused by faulty guttering, that they didn't need BC approval before taking action due to it being an emergency situation (rotting carpets) and that Strata must pay the bill - and the Strata agency denying it's their responsibility because we didn't get BC approval and refusing to pay.

    Some days one is just fed up with owning property
     
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  4. Archaon

    Archaon Well-Known Member

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    Fixed :)

    Sounds like a terrible situation though, and the BC shirking their responisbilities, I wonder where the money went to for the invoice for the gutters being fixed :rolleyes:
     
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  5. Marg4000

    Marg4000 Well-Known Member

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    Not really.
    Whoever did the order for the carpet guy to do the work is legally responsible for paying.
     
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  6. Lizzie

    Lizzie Well-Known Member

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    That would be the property manager - and I won't leave them in the lurch - but morally and ethically (and I would say financially because I can reclaim it from the BC) the Strata would be
     
  7. Stoffo

    Stoffo Well-Known Member

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    The BC sound like an insurance company o_O
    Decline & Deny first, then argue the point, before finally paying up :rolleyes:
    Spend $150 on a lawyers letter as it is clearly a BC issue :cool:
    Make sure you include the carpet, loss of rent and all other costs possible
     
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  8. Ted Varrick

    Ted Varrick Well-Known Member

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    @Lizzie , at a guess, you will need to get the carpets fixed or replaced and claim on your insurance, then the insurance company can fight it out with the OC and/or their insurer. Alternatively, you might find this of some help:-

    NSW: Q&A Lot Owner Repairs Due to Common Property Defects
     
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  9. Mel Morgan

    Mel Morgan Sydney Property Manager Business Member

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    I believe many stratas do not take responsibility for carpet, regardless of if its the building that has caused damage to it. I am currently dealing with 2 cases where strata have been specific about not paying carpet related costs: one where the carpet was flooded due to rain coming under a balcony door - owner had to claim on insurance; another where building leak caused carpet to go mouldy (long story) - owner paying to clean carpets.
     
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  10. adprom

    adprom Well-Known Member

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    It depends... if it is a standard insurance claim then no... strata insurance nearly certainly does not include carpets. We always advise all our owners that they need their own insurance for contents including carpets.

    This case is a little unique though if it could be proven that it was due to defective guttering (or improper actions of someone else). However trying to enforce that though would be the issue.

    That said, if the strata manager is being a pest, the appropriate action is to lodge a grievance directly with the committee. Remember, the managers work for the committee (well for the OC). So the committee is who gets the final word - not the manager.

    I am less familiar with NSW OC law but it should be similar that lodging a formal grievance means a proper complaint procedure should be followed to get it resolved including putting it in front of the committee.

    Carpets will always be a tough one though if you don't have your own insurance that covers them. As an additional note - strata insurance is getting harder and harder at the moment. Committees are likely doing everything they can to avoid unnecessary claims. By the way, another option you have is to raise a claim with the Owners Corporation insurance directly (in Vic there was some case law that deemed as an insured party an owner could lodge a claim directly without requiring the manager/OC to approve).
     
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