Waterproofing Issue in Existing Apartment Block

Hello All,

I and other owners of units in an apartment block have an issue with external wall/roof waterproofing issues leading to water seepage and mould inside our units. We are pushing the builder, through the owners corp (and directly) to have these issues resolved, but is taking forever. The mould is fairly pronounce on the inside plaster walls (ie the ones that are external walls), carpet has been damaged, and a number of tenant/occupant belongings have been damaged. My tenant has decided not to renew the lease due to the issues and the property most likely will not be able to be released until the problems are fixed.
I have personally had a look at the issues and they are very concerning. In speaking tot he builders they have commented that the external waterproofing membrane has failed on the walls and are reluctantly looking at getting it repaired.

My tenants are due to move out in 2 weeks, after which the apartment will be vacant until the problems are resolved and I have not been given an eta.

The property is a newly constructed apartment block at approx 5 yrs old, and is in Melbourne.

I'm looking for advice, ie can I claim rental payment compensation from the builders considering its a gross building defect that affects mine and other peoples units in the complex?

Thanks in advance.

 

More likely to have success through the strata insurance or your LL insurance who will then hit up the builder.

 

Would Strata insurance cover something like this?

 

I agree with the above.. and if you want to expedite the process.. you could engage your own Hygienists report which will assess and highlight the health risks of living in a mouldy environment, sent by a Lawyer, putting them on notice.

 

When I spoke to the OC manager the other day, he was reluctant to entertain the idea of claiming though the insurance. How would I find out the policy coverage/ our entitlements to claim?

 

You should be able to find out.all the details in the strata building insurance policy.

Unless it's a really cheap cheap policy it will be there, being coverage for accommodation after loss (like fire), with decent insurance it will cover loss of rent for landlord.

Your OC manager just doesn't want to do the leg work ! (Or worried about increase to your policy, maybe).
They have happily been taking their management fee and cruising along hoping to not have to do much, well now is the time they have to step up, push them hard to collate all affected owners details and lodge them with the builder (a paper trail is everything), then have them lodge an insurance claim, forget about the excess as this should be claimed back from the builder (and if your insurer is any good they will go after the builder or their insurer to recover all costs).

If you don't have a claim number and progress inside of two weeks call an EGM to address things !!! (Throw in "review of the strata management handling of this issue" to get them motivated )....

 

Just to touch base again, I have contacted the body corporate and they have provided me the insurance details. The insurance is through Axis Underwriting through BJS Insurance Brokers in Melbourne. I contacted Axis to get some preliminary information on the issue and they referred me to discuss it further with BJS. I contacted BJS, and the fellow I spoke to was helpful. However he mentioned that if the issue is a building defect then the insurance doesn't cover it, or any compensation thereafter. They would only consider a claim if the water damage/mould was due to an incident such as a storm or similar.

I am at odds with what to do next?

 

I and others have been trying to pursue the builder for a while now, and they just seem to be dragging their feet......

 

Time to discuss with Fair Trading.

 

I presume that's Consumer Affair in Vic, and they said its not something they look after. Consumer affairs mentioned that I should put in a dispute application through Home | Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (dbdrv.vic.gov.au)

 

Follow their guidance.

 

Time to send a email to ACA and get a story done about the issues