Building Insurance Not Being Paid By One Of The Strata Owners

Lgaz090 on 07/11/2021 - 14:57
Last edited 07/11/2021 - 15:55 by 1 other user

Hi Ozbargainers

Wanted to get some views on this to see whether others have experienced it.

We own a town house that's on a 4 lot block. Location is Victoria. We have a strata title but there is no body corporate. Building insurance is paid annually, with each owner paying 1/4 of the premium.

One of the owners has stopped paying their 1/4 of the building insurance. The insurance company has been chasing them for months and I have tried speaking to the owner twice about the matter. They always say that they will pay it, but then they don't. Long story short, us 3 remaining owners have had to cover the cost of the 4th owners premium to avoid having the whole building losing insurance.

The insurance company said they will keep chasing them and reimburse the remaining owners if they get the payment. But I doubt this will happen, and am expecting that the 4th owner will avoid payments going forward.

Has anyone encountered this before? It kind of feels like they get a free ride with no recourse.

• 

  Guybrush57 on 07/11/2021 - 15:06

  +7

  Can the insurance company give you guys a guarantee that the 4th owner will never be able to make an insurance claim on your cost? Can the insurance company insure just the three of you so you can cut the fourth person off?

  • 

    Ocker on 07/11/2021 - 17:03

    +2

    The insurance will also cover common property

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  avoidfullprice on 07/11/2021 - 15:08

  We have a strata title but there is no body corporate

  Ugh, I hate strata management until having to deal with unpaid dues.

• 

  rektrading on 07/11/2021 - 16:02

  There is never a dull day when investing in real estate.

  The last post was what to do with -$9,000 in unpaid rent.

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  AndyC1 on 07/11/2021 - 16:29

  +1

  Ring up the Vic Consumre Affairs department and ask them what can be done. Info is on the following page about vic owners corporations:
  https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/housing/owners-corporations

  As there is no body corporate I think your options are not looking good to get the money.

  How is the group paying for common area expenses for mowing, maintenance etc? There should be some sort of kitty for this… if not you and the others are going to be in allot of pain when something occurs like a blocked sewage pipe that needs ripping up and replacing or the main switchboard fries and needs replacing…. etc etc

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  USER DC on 07/11/2021 - 18:55

  -1

  This is exactly why i bloody hate strata and units/shared things. We might have to pay for others, WHY??? If i dont use that service/good/land i aint willing to pay a single cent for that

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  gaz090 on 07/11/2021 - 18:55

  Thanks for the responses. I think ringing up the consumer affairs to get their view is a good idea, I'll see if they can outline some options.

  It's not a lot of money when it's still covered by 3 of us ($466/3) but if this is going to be an ongoing saga it's good to know what options there are.

• 

  TheBird on 07/11/2021 - 19:17

  +1

  You've already done the "talk with them option" so I see 3 options:

  Send it to a debt collector. (ends up costing them extra so it's a good incentive to get their crap under control)
  Take it to court.
  Bend over and continue to take it like a good neighbour.

  • 

    Quantumcat on 07/11/2021 - 21:43

    +1

    I think the debt collector is a good idea. You'll only get a percentage of what you're owed but the extra you'll have to pay each won't be much and it is better than paying their whole share. The neighbour can't weasel out of it as it is very clear they owe the money and you know who they are and where they live. Hopefully after paying the outstanding amount they'll decide to just pay normally from then on.