body corporate or my responsibilty?

[Pandabites]

Hi everyone

Thought I would tap into the collective genius on this site.....got an email from my property manager that a rat had gnawed through a water pipe, resulting in a huge flood of water.

Water was in ceiling cavity so the build-up resulted in part of the ceiling caving in (large hole) and damaging the carpet directly underneath it (and in immediate surrounds too I imagine).

Property manager called the body corporate and they said that they would repair all the damage in the property (fixing ceiling, plastering, repainting as well as replacing any damaged carpet) since the cause of the damage was the water.

However, the body corporate's insurance policy states that they will not cover vermin, so I have been told that I will be liable for any plumber bill (to repair the pipes I imagine). I am questioning this as the source of the damage is not within my unit and I was under the impression that I am only responsible for damage within my unit (up to fixtures and fittings).

As the pipes are in a common shared cavity, shouldn't the body corporate also be responsible for repairing these? Regardless of the vermin clause in their policy?

Would love to hear if anyone has had a similar experience and the outcome - I plan to call the insurance company myself that the body corporate is with to ascertain this as well....

Thanks in advance.....

 

[handyandy]

There is generally no shared cavity.

Not sure whether you are in a unit or townhouse or whether the pipe was a fresh water pipe or a drain pipe.

Bottom line is who on earth mentioned that a rat caused the damage to the insurance. Why wasn't it just a burst pipe claim.

Cheers

 

[Terry_w]

I would think the insurance is a separate issue for them. Since it is a common area pipe that caused the damage then the body corporate would be liable to rectify any damage. If they are not covered by insurance then they would have to fund it out of their own funds.

 

[Pandabites]

Thanks to both Terry W and Handyandy for their advice....as this is a Qld townhouse, I have been advised that under Qld legislation, the body corporate is responsible for all piping up to the property, but that any piping within the property itself (be it in cavities or elsewhere) is the responsibility of the owner.

Could anyone familiar with Qld legislation shed light on this particular issue? Being from NSW, I would have assumed that the body corporate would be fully responsible and cough up as this is what I am used to. Is this not the case in Qld? (will also try and research a bit to find out exactly what the state of play is from various govt and other websites)

Thanks in advance....

 

[Scott No Mates]

It may well be roofspace however as you are in a townhouse the roofspace is not common property as it is only accessible from your dwelling and has walls around each end to slow the progress of fire etc.

Sounds like BC is right.

 

[vaughan]

I would have assumed that the body corporate would be fully responsible and cough up as this is what I am used to.

It's not like something goes wrong with your unit and it just gets fixed for free.

YOU are part of the body corporate (aka owner's corporation) and you'll be paying for the repairs, at least in part. The strata fees might go up. There might need to be a special levy. Similarly you'll in part be paying for the repairs of other units.

 

[RachelBurke]

Hi Pandabites, not sure if I'm too late on this one, but it all depends on the individual plan of subdivision for your body corporate. Every body corporate is different and responsibility should be specified on the plans.

I would suggest asking the PM to obtain a copy of the plan and forward to you, and go through this. It should specify who is responsible for different sections of the property, including windows, window frames, pipework, communal walls etc etc.