Hello Brains Trust!
Just looking to get some advice. Live on the ground floor of the two story unit complex. I heard my toilet gurgling early last week, that coincided with upstairs using water (washing machine, showering, etc) - I understand this to be the situation as their water runs down to pipes co-located with my toilet, and I was not actively running water in my unit.
In any case, I notified strata of the issue, and they refused to do anything until I supplied them with a plumbers report to verify that the issue is common property related. The very next day, I came home from a meeting to see sewerage contents all over the toilet, bathroom, hallway, and into one of the bedrooms. Called the plumber who rectified the issue (related to tree roots blocking the lines on the outside). I forwarded the report sent to me by the plumber, and strata have agreed to reimburse the cost of the plumbing repairs.
Do I have any grounds to invoice them for the
cleaning I had to do - spending 8 hours bleaching/cleaning/sanitizing the affected areas. I did this myself (didn't hire a cleaner) because I wasn't sure if they were going to deem the original problem relevant to strata, and didn't want to fork out upfront for what I'd imagine a very expensive cleaning process given the nature of the spillage, after already shelling out for a large plumbing bill.
I obviously had to throw stuff contaminated with sewerage material out (approx $150 in items - lucky I don't have carpet)
Your wise advice would be well appreciated
Potentially sounds like an insurance claim rather than a reimbursement. If considered as an insurance claim, it may require the excess to be paid which may also be a lot (potentially more than the sought reimbursement).
No harm in asking the strata / owners corporation to see how they respond - the owners corporation should have building insurance.