Strata Vs Agent for Damages in Unit

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  screensaver on 28/05/2021 - 22:33

  This is complex and you probably need to get legal advice. As an investment property any losses are probably a tax deduction. No one seems to be doing their job, get it fixed and get out.

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  SF3 on 28/05/2021 - 22:39

  +1

  Even if strata is responsible, however you as the landlord are paying for it, their source of income is from your strata fees.

  If there isn’t sinking fund to fix issues, expect one soon, and your rates to go up.

  • 

    truongster on 28/05/2021 - 23:50

    Last Strata meeting, it was voted for the fund to be used on the common property damages including stairwell cracks and hallway cracks. We know the rates would go up as a result.

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  Pelicannn on 28/05/2021 - 23:08

  +7

  I'm trying to help out a family member sort resolve some issues with their investment property.

  Ok

  I am okay with the tenants leaving (I feel bad for them) and I want to agree with the termination of rental agreement. Will I be able to claim landlord insurance on this?

  Ok

  • 

    SF3 on 28/05/2021 - 23:25

    It’s a covert operation. 🥷

  • 

    truongster on 29/05/2021 - 00:01

    +1

    You got me, I don't own the property but I have a vested interest in it. The amount of pain that this place causes me, I might as well own it.

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  garetz on 29/05/2021 - 00:37

  +1

  It doesn't matter if the strata company blames new staff, the staff was theirs and a representative for the strata company. If the staff are incompetent then the strata company is also by extension also incompetent if not more so therefore still responsible.

  • 

    Quantumcat on 29/05/2021 - 09:53

    I think it is the real estate that's blaming new staff but I could be wrong

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  TheBird on 29/05/2021 - 01:53

  +1

  Should the strata be responsible to pay for the damages from the previous water leaks repairs?

  Need more details to know, but I'd suspect the answer would be no. That being said, you said wall repair, not plumbing. Does the wall repair bear connection to leaking?

  Should the agency deal with the strata company or does the home owner need to be involved? If so then why bother with the agency?

  Is the agency (real estate agency I assume) managing body corporate affairs? I've never rented out a property, so I have to admit, I don't have a lot of experience with this. As a committee member, property managers do submit issues and as far as I'm aware, they're only ever contacted again if the issue is sent back to them to handle when it has nothing to do with the body corporate. Our committee and strata manager manage issues internally and noticed of decisions are sent to owners once per year unless it's a to do with an emergency general meeting. Occasionally owners to press forward, but I've never seen property managers do this.

  I am okay with the tenants leaving (I feel bad for them) and I want to agree with the termination of rental agreement. Will I be able to claim landlord insurance on this?

  That'll depend on your insurance. Not sure if they will pay out on the "I feel bad for them" clause, but it's worth a try. Talk to the insurance company before making those kinds of decisions. You may need a judgement from a tribunal/judge to be covered.

  I don't quite understand the nitty gritty of exactly what the whole issue is, but there's a chance that it may be covered by your body corporate insurance, that is assuming they have coverage for this. That being said, it's been about a decade since I've dealt with units. I'm in a townhouse now and I assume the rules/what's covered would be slightly different. They can also vary state to state.

  Should the strata be responsible to repair and fix the cracking in the hallways.

  It's hard to tell, but probably not.

  I'd be interested in knowing, how long does a leak need to be ignored before mold becomes an issue. Who knows, tenants might even share some of the blame.

  There seems to be a lot of information missing. Gleaning between the lines, it sounds like there's been a lot of complatency and incompentence and the owner is likely to get stuck with the bill. To get the blame shifted, I'm betting you're going to have to sue. The chances of success… who knows? Probably low.

• 

  ronafios on 29/05/2021 - 06:10

  In answer to your questions:

  • The body corporate will be responsible for damage and repair to any common property (such as leaks in common property areas such as roof, stairwells etc).
  • Most landlord insurance products will cover you for lost rent during repairs
  • It's important to regularly inspect properties so these things don't happen for months without being picked up.
  • The agent can manage the body corporate on your behalf, but you will need to liaise with your insurer directly.

  It sounds like multiple people haven't been doing their job. I'd be asking for a 'please explain' from the agency and a refund of management fees if they haven't been actively managing the property. At the very least it will speed up their attention to your needs from this point onwards.

  Your next step needs to be to get the agent to ask the Strata manager to urgently seek quotes and provide time-frames for a fix. You then need to speak to your insurer and explain the damage and delays and see what they will cover in terms of lost rent.

  You may need to provide the insurer with evidence that the damage is the responsibility of the body corporate, that the flat is uninhabitable currently, and a timeframe for a fix.

  • 

    truongster on 29/05/2021 - 09:54

    I've contacted the agency to request what you have suggested above. I'm trying to get the insurance details from the family member to see what the insurance companies says should be responsible (I think they'll be most likely to help and point in the right direction as well)

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  Seraphin7 on 29/05/2021 - 09:37

  I'm trying to help out a family member sort resolve some issues with their investment property.

  Hmm, OK.

  Due to this I have not found out about the mould for months now until the tenants contacted me directly.

  Why would the tenants do this? How do they even know you exist?

  I am okay with the tenants leaving (I feel bad for them) and I want to agree with the termination of rental agreement. Will I be able to claim landlord insurance on this?

  You won't be able to do anything. You are not the landlord and therefore cannot terminate any agreement or use any insurance you may have.

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  Jugganautx on 29/05/2021 - 09:39

  Strata's are useless end of story.

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  Meho2026 on 29/05/2021 - 09:56

  +4

  Ive had a similar thing happen to me except my property manager was all over it, the strata manager refused to cooperate with them and I had to intervene.

  My advice would be…

  Do not communicate directly with the tenants, direct the tenants to discuss everything with the property manager.
  Instruct the property manager to contact the tenants and deal with them.

  In this instance, the property manager sounds incompetent and you need to replace them but hold off on that while the current tenant is in place. When the tenant does actually move out, then get a new property manager.

  Organise access to the unit through the property manager ASAP and get in there and have a look yourself, take photos.

  Contact the strata manager yourself. Inform them that you have just been informed of extensive water damage to your unit. Tell them it appears the previous repairs have failed to rectify the water leak from before and as a result your unit is now uninhabitable and the tenant is leaving.
  Imply that the tenant went to the tribunal because the property manager was unresponsive and is being allowed to break the lease with no penalty because the condition of the unit is so bad.

  Strata managers are all evil and the most obstructive people you will ever meet plus they are all liars. They are worse than real estate and second hand car sales people. You need to understand that and be prepared for it.

  Send the strata manager the photos of the damage. Inform them it is clear the repairs they organised before have either failed or the original problem was never established by the tradespeople they engaged. Word it like that to make it clear this is their responsibility.

  You need to wait and see how they respond. it will be a slow response, all the strata manager will do is inform the executive committee and wait. To speed things up you need to contact the committee members yourself. The minutes of the last AGM will state who they are and the units they own. Its better to track them down that way. If you cant find those records you are going to have to ask the strata manager yourself. In that case find out those details before you even tell the strata manager about the water damage.
  The strata manager will probably cite privacy reasons not to give you any details. Dont accept that, you have a right to the information.

  If possible take a committee member into your unit and show them the damage. The strata manager can give you the run around but they cant give the executive committee the run around.
  Ask the committee member if they can help you fix things.

  Now, while the committee and the strata manager debate the matter contact the strata manager again but separately inform them you want to make a claim against the strata insurance. Normally the strata manager deals with insurance claims and its better when they do because they have relationships with the insurance agents but unit owners can actually submit claims directly.
  If the strata manager is fobbing you off and sounding like they dont want to submit a claim, ask them for the information to do it yourself.

  Dont actually submit the claim just ask how its done. its too early to claim anything at this stage, this is about making it clear to the strata manager that it will be happening at some point with or without their help.

  At this point its better to liase with the exec committee. Ask for updates, ask when things are going to happen. Each time you do that, they have to ask the strata manager and the strata manager will have to respond to them. The strata manager will most likely not respond to you if you ask directly.

  There will come a point where the tenant has moved out and the repairs are being undertaken. This is where you start pushing the strata insurance claim to cover lost rent for the whole period it is vacant

  I did all this, got the leak fixed and the water damage repaired, unit repainted and compensated for loss of rent for the period the unit was unoccupied. You need to be devoted to the cause, never give up and continually chase people for action to happen. Its mentally exhausting and not for the fainthearted.

  Oh yeh the cracking may or may not be related to the water leak. Either way its a structural issue and strata are responsible. In my situation the water damage caused plaster to fall out a ceiling beam and revealed a completely rusted out structural beam that had to be replaced (more stress).

• 

  AndyC1 on 29/05/2021 - 11:50

  -1

  Simple terms:
  1) the real estate agent will slow things down as they are not going to get paid for any of the work they do, unless you have a separate agreement to pay them for the work.
  2) The issue is with the strata. I would contact the state government department that looks after strata corporations and ask them what you can do. They will not give advisde on your specific case, but give you advise on what the law says you can do.