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I bought a new apartment almost five years ago. At the time the building inspector pointed out a few issues such as water leaking onto my carspace from a pipe above as well as flashing problems on doors etc.
The builder agreed to fix these as part of the conditions of me signing the contract.
Fast forward a year and the problems were still not fixed. Not only that but it was found that the waterproofing hadn't been done properly anywhere in the block of 22 units including bathrooms, laundry areas, flower beds, and balconies, including the sliding doors. Problems range from water running down interior walls when it rains to rotting architraves, lifting tiles etc
Lawyers have been consulted and are unable to tell from the paper trail who the identity of the builder was – the most likely culprit has been deregistered. We cannot make a claim against the builder unless we make an application to the Supreme Court to re-register the company.
We are not covered by HOW Insurance as the building is four stories in its central block.
So, basically I just want to know if there's anything we can do between a lengthy, hopeless, drawn out, expensive legal process or paying for it ourselves?
And what group, organisation, cause etc can I join to petition the laws to change so this doesn't keep happening to people? I hear so many similar stories once I start telling mine.
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OK, the first thing you need to know is that the Owners Corporation needs to go ahead and get this fixed. Such is the genius of strata laws in this State that the only people who have to pay for defects, by law, are the victims of shonky developers.
Your choice is whether or not to fight a lengthy legal battle – which will cost you lots of money and the kind of emotional energy you can't even quantify – with no guarantee of success even when you have a watertight case.
I have observed at close quarters a multinational company and a bunch of useless lawyers and worthless so-called experts milk millions out of my neighbours, costing them more in legal bills than they got in payment.
So here is my advice. Get a company like Integrated Buildiong Consultants to come in and tell you how you can get your defects fixed most cost-effectively. raise the money and get it done – at least you will protect the value of your homes. As soon as possible in the process, register your claim for defects.
Then get a good strata lawyer to tell you what your realistic chances are of recovering the money. This may be a fight you can't win so the best thing you can do may be to just save yourself a lot of grief and suck it up.
Meanwhile join the Owners Corporation Network (CLICK HERE). In fact, they are having a seminar on May 28th in Kirribilli so click on that link to fingd out more. Best of luck.
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.
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