Water Penetration damage: internal work

Discussion in 'Repairs & Maintenance' started by MichaelSydney, 12th Nov, 2015.

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  1. MichaelSydney

    MichaelSydney New Member

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    Hi all,
    In the storms that affected sydney at the start of the year my IP apartment got affected by water penetration.

    Strata have fixed the waterproofing flashing issues that cause water penetration damage (at their expense).

    As part of the water penetration, water got under the interior paint (between wall and paint). The water has now dried but has left cosmetic damage.

    Strata are refusing to pay the internal paint work (or any internal work). They acknowledge a fault with common property has lead to internal damange but are saying it is the owners responsibility.

    My understandig was if common property problems caused internal damage then it is strata's responsibility to fix it, is this wrong? What are my rights?
     
  2. Nick Valsamis

    Nick Valsamis Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunately, it's always going to be the owners responsibility for internal paintwork repairs.

    I've seen a similar issue from a water leak and strata will not pay for repainting of anything inside the unit and quote that it is the owners responsibility.
     
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  3. MichaelSydney

    MichaelSydney New Member

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    Thanks. Sounds like I'll have to pay for this. Thought it would be strata's responsibility as it was really common property maintenance fault that led to this.
     
  4. Biz

    Biz Well-Known Member

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    Dunno but quick tip for you. You can tidy up a bit of internal water damage with a magic eraser. $5 in the supermarket. The stain you can see is likely just dirt seeping through. Give it a once over and you will significantly reduce whatever mark is there.
     
  5. JoeShmoe

    JoeShmoe New Member

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    I have a similar question re:internal work for an investment property in Sydney.

    I have an internal wall that faces the bathroom. It seems there might be some water penetration issues from the bathroom and perhaps a need for re-waterproofing on the bathroom side. Is this my responsibility or strata's responsibility? Strata are saying it is an internal wall and hence my responsibility.
     
  6. Scott No Mates

    Scott No Mates Well-Known Member

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    Internal wall- your problem as you control both sides of it - unless the warranty is still valid.
     
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  7. Nick Valsamis

    Nick Valsamis Well-Known Member

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    It is your responsibility as strata mentioned. At least you contacted them and tried to ask them to repair this.
     
  8. Russ

    Russ Well-Known Member

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    Yeah, morally it's easy to think that if a failure occurred in common property then the OC should pay for consequential loss/damage, but it does not work that way. The OC has a responsibility to repair and maintain Common Property, but paint is yours, so it could be said that they have neither the obligation nor even the right to spend communal money on your paint. That holds even though it was damaged from a failure in Common Property.

    Unless you want to take action for Negligence, in which case it will cost you much more than the paint, and you wouldn't want to gamble on the outcome.

    Having said that, the new strata legislation which is yet to commence in NSW introduces a statutory protection (copied below) for Lot Owners that may apply in circumstances such as yours. As the legislation hasn't even commenced, Tribunal and courts are yet to interpret and guide the application. We can expect commentary from Strata Lawyers closer to commencement, though.

    From s106 of Strata Schemes Management Act 2015
    "(5) An owner of a lot in a strata scheme may recover from the owners corporation, as damages for breach of statutory duty, any reasonably foreseeable loss suffered by the owner as a result of a contravention of this section by the owners corporation."
     
  9. melbournian

    melbournian Well-Known Member

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    Weird any issue that cause leaks in your lot should be borned by the OC especially it its leaks or water from common property like roofs etc.

    Not sure how it is done in NSW but in victoria, i would raise it as a dispute with the OC and go through the dispute management process. Again if it is a few walls painting them for $150 yourself might save you the stress.
     

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