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I have a combined ceiling fan and main bedroom light controlled by remote. its water damaged, built up from moisture from a combination of blocked ventilation system and leaking roof which the later is subjected to building warranty claim.
I am aware the ceiling fan combined light is my responsibility but when the damaged is caused by these issues which are Owners Corporation, then who’s responsibility is it then? Is it still mine but subjected to my insurance policy for contents, or is it Owners Corporation?
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If you can prove that the damage to the light was caused by a failure of common property, you can send the Owners Corp a bill for the repairs and/or replacement.
However, bear in mind that a quirk in the Memoradum “who is responsible for what …?” suggests that the Owners Corp is only responsible for the damage done in repairing common property not for damage caused by the failure of the common property in the first place.
According to many strata lawyers this is not a legally sustainable position, and it’s certainly not the law, but its one your strata manager may take in the first instance.
In reality, most home and contents policies will cover this but you may have to pay an excess. Your dilemma is, if the OC refuses to pay the excess, is it worth your time and trouble pursuing them through the locals courts.
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.
problem is this is a grey area.
It’s def not a contents insurance claim because it’s a fixture and so if it’s an insurance claim it would be on the strata building insurance. As the Strata insurance has an excess ($250 maybe) this would be payable by the yourself (as the item is not common property).
You may have a claim against the Strata for negligence but that is a bit thin and unless they accept this you will have a uphill battle.
I belive the Strata insurance should pay for the repair to the fan / light except for the excess which is your cost.
Agree this is a grey are but I disagree that if the building’s insurance covers it, the owner should cover the excess.
It’s either the building’s responsibility or it isn’t. Why would the insurer pay if it’s not a claim against the building? Why should the owner pay anything if it is a legitimate claim?
You can’t be half pregnant.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.
In my OC, we have handled similar situations like this:
- If the damage to a lot’s property was caused by a fault in common property, the OC is responsible for the damage and any subsequent repair. How the OC arranges the repair of the lot property is up to the OC. It might be an insurance claim, it might be a claim against the builder, the OC might pay out of common funds, but the OC is still responsible. If it’s an insurance claim, the OC claims either for damage under building cover (even for fixtures that belong to the lot owner) or against the liability cover due to damage to other’s property (eg when it’s not the building or a fixture that was damaged). As the OC is responsible for the damage, the OC pays any excess.
- If the damage to a lot’s property was not caused by a fault in common property, the OC is not responsible for the damage but will assist if the OC’s insurance will cover the damage. As the OC was not responsible for the damage, the lot owner pays any excess.
Jimmy I think we are all in agreement that it is a Strata Building insurance claim and the only difference is who pays the excess.
If it was common property I would agree that in NSW it is Strata reasponsibility to cover the excess but it is not common property the fixture belongs to the lot and so it is the owners problem to pick up the excess.
This is one of the confuseing things about strata insurance it cover both lot property and common property. If the item was damaged by a non insurable claim would you expect the Strata to pick up the bill for the total repair of a clearly lot item.
Whether the damage was caused by strata negligence or origional builder negligence opens up a whole new bag of worms which I am not even going to try and argue for or against.
@kiwipaul said:
If it was common property I would agree that in NSW it is Strata reasponsibility to cover the excess but it is not common property the fixture belongs to the lot and so it is the owners problem to pick up the excess.
It’s about liability.
If the OC is liable for the damage then the OC has to repair it and pay any excess. If the OC is not liable (eg the damage was due to an Act of God) then the owner should pay any OC insurance excess. Remember, an owner’s lot insurance is (1) optional and (2) might not even cover the damage.
It might be a bit of work for an owner to claim against the OC, but that’s up to the owner.
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