By the Paddocks Club team

Below are examples of two questions on the Paddocks Club discussion forum. We want to show you what is available to our Community members!

Ceiling damage

Member’s question:

Good morning Paddocks Team,

Who would be responsible for ceiling damage if the ceiling is falling down due to developers poor workmanship.

Will it be the unit owners responsibility as it is inside the unit or the responsibility of  the Body Corporate?

Anton’s answer:

Hello,

On basic principles, the repair to the actual ceiling would be a shared expense since the median line passes through the ceiling, making it half section and half common property.

But it’s almost certainty not only the ceiling that has failed, but the common property structure above it as well. If that is so, the owner may have a claim against the body corporate for his or her share of the ceiling repair cost.

 

Does reserve budget apply immediately?

Member’s question:

Hello,

We have heard that there is a two year moratorium on raising the financial reserves.  Is this correct?

Anton’s answer:

Hi,

No, the requirements for the maintenance, repair and replacement plan and the reserve fund from which to pay those maintenance costs became effective on 7 October 2017.

It would be too much to expect a neglected scheme to gather sufficient reserve funds to accommodate all the items in its MR&R plan immediately, so, from a practical point of view, it might take a while to reach that happy state, but schemes must start immediately, and do as much as is reasonably possible as soon as possible.

 

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Article reference: Paddocks Press: Volume 12, Issue 02, Page 04.

Professor Graham Paddock, Anton Kelly, Dr Carryn Melissa Durham and Zerlinda van der Merwe are available to answer questions on the Paddocks Club discussion forum for Community members. Get all your questions answered by joining Paddocks Club.

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license.

Back to Paddocks Press – February 2017 Edition