Insurance Qs - strata, landlord or?

The background: Two month ago there was a fire in our (tenanted) strata unit. The fire started from a dishwasher and the smoke filled the kitchen. Tenant was not home. A neighbour called the fire brigade who came and broke down the front door to put out the fire.

Property manager (PM) organised emergency repairs (electrical, carpet cleaning). She got quotes for smoke cleaning in the kitchen, replacement of dishwasher, and repair of front door frame. She submitted these to EBM (our landlord insurance) for claims. EBM only paid out on emergency cleaning of carpet and replacement of dishwasher, but not the emergency electrical, cleaning of smoke and repair of front door frame. EBM told our PM that these should be claimed through strata building insurance.

PM then asked strata manager (SM) to put in claims for the items not paid by EBM. The strata building insurance is CHU. They settled on the residual items.

One outstanding issue, according to our PM, is that the damage to the front door should be fixed by strata because the door is a fire rated door. (Am not sure why PM did not put this claim in with CHU instead asking SM to organise the repair separately) This is now blown out with a chain of emails between PM and SM. The SM said the repair of the front door is not strata responsibility - instead it is owners responsibility (meaning us). The reason she gave was that "The fire issues were generated and caused internally in our unit, and the front door was damaged due to fire started inside the unit. Therefore the repair or replacement of the front door will not be covered by Owners Corporation Fund - the Owners are not responsible for the repair in this particular incident."

I found the above reason somewhat puzzling. In hindsight, our PM should have got quotes for the repair / replacement of the front door and submitted them as a package when the claim was made with strata building insurance. I have now asked PM to get quotes to ascertain whether the door should be repaired or replaced and the costs.

I would appreciate views, opinions, and comments on this. I suspect EBM (landlord insurance) would not respond to the repair / replacement of the front door - they may argue that it is part of the building. I am not sure why SM refused to submit the claim to strata building insurance for the door, and insisted that we (the owners of the flat) have to pay for the work ourselves.

What would you suggest we should do? Should we contact CHU asking for clarification? Thanks in advance for any reply - much appreciated.

 

Let CHU know that there is a door to add to the claim.
Nothing to do with the Strata fund, it is insurance claim which is different to the strata fund

 

Thanks, Hosko, for your reply. I will have to ask strata manager (SM) to put the additional claim to CHU - as the claim has to go through SM. In the previous claim, our PM has had to do everything via the SM. I am still puzzled as to why our PM did not include the door in that claim. I have asked PM to get me quotes and will ask her to submit the door claim via SM.

 

My understanding is that:
a) it is strata's responsibility to maintain the front door; but
b) as the damage was (effectively) caused by you, they can recover the cost from you; and
c) you may be able to claim that cost from your own insurance.

 

If the reverse was to happen (water damage to the paint inside your unit from the firies), then you claim on your insurance for the internal damages as strata insurance doesn't cover inside your walls.

In this instance, it's the strata insurance which would cover the door.

 

Thanks, Scott No Mates. I will pursue the strata building insurance for the damaged door, after I get the quotes from the PM.

 

It's part of the building - you can't just remove the front door for example and have a big gaping hole and replace it with a baby gate. How would the SM feel about that? Given they would probably have a fit, this also means it's not a part of your insurance but that of the strata's. Claim it from CHU.

 

Thanks, MyPropertyPro, for your reply - appreciated it.
The views from the forum are that we should put in the claim for the damaged front door with the strata building insurance CHU - which we will do, after we get the quotes from the PM. The SM said she canvassed it with the strata executive committee and they said since the fire was caused internally - implying we caused it ? - so we have to pay for the repair, even though the front door is part of the building. We cannot understand her logic.

 

Rule 1 of insurance - deny liability.
Rule 2 - if questioned, see rule 1

 

I know in situations where a neighbour's tree falls on your house, your house would be repairable by your own building insurance (if you have it) and not the neighbour:
http://insurancelaw.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/FRLC-Factsheet-ILS-If-a-Tree-Falls.pdf

Using that logic, the door, being strata property, is repairable by the strata/strata insurance, unless they tried to argue the fire was forseeable and/or a result of your negligence.

In NSW it is definitely strata responsiblity to have damage to common property repaired, regardless whether is it an accident or negligence.

Fair trading even goes as far as to say the lot owner can sue the strata if they suffer loss or damage (if strata unreasonably delay); but confusingly also say "If someone else damages your property, then like any damages claim, you may take legal action to recover the cost of repairs from that person."
Frequently_asked_questions_strata_schemes

Maybe call the phone number on the factsheet I linked to and see if they have an opinion?

 

Slightly different viewpoint - how much would the door repair cost?

Maybe it is worth stumping up and getting it done to return the property to pre-fire standard.

You have tenant having to live with the damage, for now two months, through no fault of their own.

 

@brettc - your 2 cents?

 

Spot on. Get the door fixed because you will have to repair it anyway for the tenant regardless of it is is an insurance job or not. (I assume this has been done if it was 2 months ago)
But then send the invoice to the strata insurance for reimbursement.

 

Thanks, everyone, for your further views / comments.
We have asked the PM to get quotes to repair the door - we were disappointed she did not do this when she got the other quotes. Her reason for not doing so was that she insisted that the repair of the door was strata responsibility (and the SM should get the quote and repair it). The PM only got quotes to repair what she thought we would be responsible. As soon as we receive the quotes this week from the PM, we will get her to go ahead with the repair and pay for it ourselves, then argue with the SM and email the invoice to the strata insurer CHU. [PS - we are currently living overseas, hence it has been a long drawn out process. The PM has not managed the process well - we are not happy. We have emailed the tenant and gave him 1.5 weeks rent free as compensation for putting up with the delays in repairs. We understand how frustrating it has been for him - as we are tenants here ourselves.]

 

Definitely pursue directly with the strata insurer to add this to your existing claim as has been suggested above. The fact the fire was caused inside your unit should not be relevant, otherwise all the other damage would have been excluded as well.

But there is one wildcard in here. Most policies include an exclusion for damage caused by a government body, whether they be police, fire or others, so they may look to not pay on that basis. Essentially they would be saying that the damage wasn't caused by the fire but caused by gaining entry to the property, by a government body.

 

Many thanks, Brett, for reply.
Am waiting for quotes from the PM, then email the strata manager (SM), and strata insurer CHU (I have got an email address for a contact from the existing claim). The SM implied that since the fire broke out in our unit (internally) hence it was our fault (?) and we as owners must pay for the repair.
I will report back the outcome - still believe our PM has not handled the claims well. Hubby said it was like having a dog and having to bark myself As I mentioned, we have given tenant 1.5 weeks rent free, and emailed him. He has been a good tenant and reasonable and made himself available for the repairs.

 

Just want to report back and thank you everyone for your replies and comments. This saga has been settled and paid by the building strata insurer a fortnight ago.

After the PM got the quotes, I emailed them to the strata insurer (and copied both PM and SM into email). Heard nothing after 4 weeks so I phoned the strata insurer who advised that the claim was settled and paid a week after my email. Of course, no one thought of telling me. So, I fired off an email to PM and SM - who then informed me that yes, cheque was received from insurer and paid to PM's account (I asked them to do this for previous claims). The door is scheduled for installation later this week.

PM just advised that lease on the unit expired this month and tenant was keen to renew for another a year. She suggested $30 a week increase. But, hubby said he would be happy to keep the weekly rent at the current level. We are not greedy landlords, just want to keep our good tenant.