Why Owners Corporation Managers Might Avoid Involvement in Disputes: Balcony Leak

By Scott Raglus - Manger, LDB Property Pty Ltd.

One of the main reasons owners corporation managers cannot get involved in all disputes is that in strata schemes, responsibility is divided between common property and individual lots. If for example, a leaking balcony is part of a lot (i.e., privately owned), then it's generally the lot owner's responsibility to deal with the issue. If it's part of the common property, the owners corporation is responsible.

The owners corporation manager can only deal with common property issues therefore if the leak is from one lot to another and no common property is involved the issue will need to be resolved between the individual lot owners.

Similarly, the owners corporation cannot deal with any dispute between the lot owners in these instances under the Dispute Resolution Procedure contained within the owners corporation’s rules, as this only applies to common property.

Your owners corporation’s managers role in these instances is to firstly inform you as to whether the matter is a common property related issue or an individual lot owner/s issue and, if required, to facilitate communication between the relevant lot owners. They may also assist in the making of insurance claims pertaining to resultant damage to property under the owners corporations building insurance.