Hi
Recently I've had an issue with garage door in my townhouse. It was repaired and invoice state: RESET MOTOR TO AUTO TENSION & SERVICE DOOR with price of 140 AUD.
Strata manager says that according by-laws garage motor is owner's responsibility and I have to pay the bill. I've checked by-laws and yes they say that garage motor is owner's responsibility.
Two questions:
Is the price reasonable ?
Can I ask strata to pay for "Service door" part of the invoice or it is non sense?
Thank you!
Agree, the by-laws are what determines who pays. You're up for $140.
probs just the call out fee
You've got to live your life by those Strata by laws. Strata would have no interest in paying any amount towards a door that you as the owner has the exclusive use of. It's like asking all your work colleagues to chip in money to service your car.
If you have to conduct and major works, you should always get multiple quotes — but this $140.00 cost sounds like a callout fee, because it seems he's only resetting the motor and checking to see if it works afterwards. As the IT industry will tell you — "just turn it on and off again" — and then charge them a hefty callout fee.
I was also offered similar price to service my garage door in Canberra, so price seems ok.
If there is a problem with the door or the door mechanism then it is the strata's issue. If it is a problem with the motor or anything that is not standard with a garage door then it is your problem.
I recently had a garage door problem where one of the washers snapped that was holding the giant spring on one side of my garage door. Strata paid for the repair of the door as it was related to the door not being able to be opened.
Separately I also had a motor installed which was at my expense.
If there is a problem with the door or the door mechanism then it is the strata's issue.
Why would the collection of owners in a Strata property share the repair cost cost of a door which is owned and exclusively used by one unit owner?
Because that is connect with the common property. It is like your own main door, you can not paint a different color, but it is your own door for your unit.
Sometime if there is a water leaking issues where it is caused by the unit above strata still need to pay for it.
It is like your own main door
So if your unit's door, handle or door-knocker becomes damaged, your Strata pays for it!?
… You're not planning on leasing out your property anytime soon, are you?
If you lock are not compliance with the regulation it will be replaced by strata
… So, as long as I ensure a non-compliant lock and door is fitted to the property I own, the Strata will use money collected from every owner, including me to pay somebody to replace the door and lock?
Sounds ridiculous, doesn't it?
@QW3RTY:
Maybe….
They may also find something in your by-laws that require any damage to common property to be paid for by the person who damaged it. So if you "damage" the door/lock by replacing it with a non compliant one, it may be you who has to replace it back up to code.
As @LoveBargain15 said before, if something connects with the common property, doors, external walls, windows, balcony… they are strata issues.
That is why you are not living in an apartment where ridiculous by laws are always there for so many things.
If unit tenant and owner stay at visitor parking strata are not allow to fine them accept going though tribunal, strata need to pay the application fee and the fine ($500) is not given back to the strata.
I'm taking ridiculous examples to the extreme simply because there's no way a motor that exclusively services one owner should be paid for by the collection of owners.
I'm going to assume that OP's building's car park is secured by one big automatic door controlled by a motor. Within that big car park are (for example) six individual lock up spaces for six units, each with their own door motors.
This is normally how Repairs and Maintenance under a Strata scheme works, and if you have a different set up, it will be an outlier to the majority.
What this example also goes to show is that no matter what, no matter the repairs, an owner will always pay between:
$x and $x/n, where;
$x is the tradesman's cost of repairs and
n is the number of unit owners in the strata scheme (assuming that all of the n units are identical)
That is why you are not living in an apartment
How did you know? Are you the one who has been following me?!
where ridiculous by laws are always there for so many things.
It's the Strata Manager's job to ensure all bases are covered — sure this can result in a lot of by-laws — but "ridiculous" by-laws tend to not survive the "common sense test" as they are often voted on by the owners at general meetings.
If unit tenant and owner stay at visitor parking strata are not allow to fine them accept going though tribunal, strata need to pay the application fee and the fine ($500) is not given back to the strata.
Ok?
@QW3RTY: My entry door lock broke, strata covered the cost of the locksmith and the replacement lock.
Another neighbour had bad tenants who kicked in the main security door plus the unit's entry door on a few occasions. Strata also covered replacement doors. They didn't recover costs from the owner (unfortunately).
My entry door lock broke
Your exclusive unit door? If so that's pretty good of them.
kicked in the main security door
Even though caused by a bratty tenant, repairs to common area is the Strata's responsibility. If they could of nabbed them over CCTV, that'd be ever so sweet. If they were bored enough, they could have made an insurance claim against the lot owner.
While I'm having fun discussing the technicalities of it, OP, to solve your problem, the Strata agreement and Strata Plan will help you determine the answer. It is unique to your Strata plan and will have the most relevant information.
The registered strata plan defines the boundaries between common property and lots in a strata scheme. If you are an owner, you will most likely have a copy of both of these documents — however if you don't, then a call to the Strata Manager is all you'll need to do. They'll send you copies of the two and be able to see exactly what is your property (and hence your responsibility) and what is common property (and what is the responsibility of the Strata Managers).
All,
Thank you for your inputs, I'm clear about price now and that it is my responsibility.
Ours is only a small Strata of 4 units…we had our garage door motor replaced by Strata because it was a part of the original equipment fitted to the unit when first built.
So I guess the all important info is contained in each Strata Plan document.
Just had mine serviced, $80.00 from a certified B&D installer. If all that was done was a service then $140.00 seems high.
If it's covered in the bylaws, then you need to live by it. The repair is clearly in respect to the motor being able top open the door, so you will not be able to get out of it.
Never had my garage door serviced before, but try and have a tradesman visit your house for a simple job for anything less.. You will always pay.