Management company issues

Greg81

Hello,

I am having issues with Management Company.

There is a leak from the balcony to one of my bedrooms.
Management company sent contractors who made patching work but it is still leaking.
I am trying to get in touch with them but looks like they are dodging my emails and other forms of contact.

My question is can I approach them through solicitor or something.

Does anyone had similar issues in the past?

Thanks.

What has the owner of the balcony said about the leak?

Caranica

Dav010 wrote: »

What has the owner of the balcony said about the leak?

The management company owns the balcony as part of the buildings.

OP have you been dealing with the management agent or the directors of the management company?

Greg81

Caranica wrote: »

The management company owns the balcony as part of the buildings.

OP have you been dealing with the management agent or the directors of the management company?

I have been dealing with management agent (person who is replying emails, answering telephones)

I have also should mention that i am living in duplex apartment. So yes even I have access to the balcony but management is responsible for all maintenance

Caranica

Greg81 wrote: »

I have been dealing with management agent (person who is replying emails, answering telephones)

I have also should mention that i am living in duplex apartment. So yes even I have access to the balcony but management is responsible for all maintenance

I have 3 balconies on my duplex. Sitting room balcony isn't over any building so no issues. Bedroom balcony is over sitting room, leaks went into ceiling and down walls. Kitchen balcony leaking into ceiling and walls downstairs.

So our agent said the cheaper fix that was done on some balconies (not mine) in the past, was not good enough and still leaks so they got in a different contractor who took up the slabs and put multiple layers of a tar like substance (red and grey) over 3 days then replaced the slabs. Got painters in to fix my sitting room walls and ceiling as they did downstairs for them. No cost to either of us. Whatever they used has a 20 year guarantee and I'm not expecting the problem to reoccur.

Baby01032012

Caranica wrote: »

The management company owns the balcony as part of the buildings.

OP have you been dealing with the management agent or the directors of the management company?

You don’t know that. Every development is different. The balcony isn’t necessarily part of common area.

Caranica

Baby01032012 wrote: »

You don’t know that. Every development is different. The balcony isn’t necessarily part of common area.

Apartment owners (with very few, problematic exceptions) do not own their apartments but have lengthy leases from the management company. The management company owns the buildings. The OP has confirmed that this is the case for them.

Balconies are part of the buildings but are available for the exclusive use of the units they are attached to.

Common areas very rarely have balconies.

dotsman

I've never heard of an apartment complex where the management company aren't responsible for the balconies. They are external and part of the overall building, not the internals of the apartment.

OP, keep chasing the management agent (i.e. at least daily). If you don't make progress, you should alert the directors of the management company. The longer the leak goes on, the more damage potentially gets done and, thus, higher cost to fix everything after the leak is resolved. In turn, this drives up the insurance premium for the complex.

paulcorkgolf

Usually, management companies have the responsibility of the apartment’s balconies as it’s not the internal part of the apartment, so as the external part of the building so should be the responsibility of the company. True if after chasing no results then should approach the owners of the company as leaving it unattended for longer to fix will involve more cost as later.

Caranica

paulcorkgolf wrote: »

Usually, management companies have the responsibility of the apartment’s balconies as it’s not the internal part of the apartment, so as the external part of the building so should be the responsibility of the company. True if after chasing no results then should approach the owners of the company as leaving it unattended for longer to fix will involve more cost as later.

I think you meant directors of the company