From time to time an owners corporation may not properly look after common property in a strata scheme which would comprise everything other than the insides of individual lots including external and boundary walls, driveways, pipes, electrical wiring and original floors, tiles and floor boards.
Section 106 of the Strata Schemes Management Act (NSW) imposes a duty on the owners corporation to properly maintain common property and keep it in a state of good and serviceable repair.
So, if an owners corporation fails in its duty, a lot owner can apply to NCAT (NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal) for an order forcing the owners corporation to take appropriate action.
The section further provides that the owner of a lot may recover damages for any foreseeable loss suffered by the owner as a result of the breach of duty. A recent case in the NSW Court of Appeal, Vickery v The Owners – Strata Plan No. 80412 [2020] NSWCA 284, confirmed NCAT has the power to award compensation. The case involved a failure by the owners corporation to repair a leak that caused damage to an apartment and included a claim for lost rent.
February 2021