Common Property Problems Cause Damage To Section: Can I Claim?

The Sectional Titles Schemes Management Act obliges the body corporate to maintain a scheme's common property. Owners are in turn required to repair and maintain their sections.

Is the body corporate, as a result, automatically responsible to arrange and pay for the repair of damage to an owner's section if it results from some defect or failure in the common property? The short answer is no, as the Act does not automatically hold the body corporate liable for consequential (ensuing) damages. 

An owner may therefore request the body corporate to pay for the damages caused by defects arising out of the common property, but if the body corporate refuses to pay, the owner must then proceed to either enforce their common law rights, or the owner may consider filing an application with the Ombud against the body corporate for an order requiring the them to have the repairs and maintenance carried out.