Fines and jail for ignoring faults | Common Property | Flat Chat Forum

A tradesman I know had been called to a 15-to-20-year-old block on the North Shore  after complaints that balustrade fittings were loose and corroding.

Every balcony he tested had dangerous balustrades and he told the Executive Committee chairman that probably all the fixtures on hundreds of balconies needed to be replaced as a matter of urgency before someone was either seriously injured by falling glass or by falling themselves.

The EC quietly decided to ignore his advice as the cost of replacing all the fittings on every balcony was 'prohibitive'. The tradie wanted to know if he was liable if he knew there was a problem that they didn't fix?

I advised him to make sure he sent a written report that clearly spelled out the dangers of not taking action. It's then up to the Owners Corp which has a legal obligation to maintain and repair common property and could be sued if anyone was hurt.

However, I was talking to Michael Teys (whose strata law firm is one of this website's sponsors) and he warned it's even more serious if there is anyone working in strata buildings, either as tradesman working on common property or employed in commercial areas of the strata plan.

Under Work Health and Safety legislation that came into force on January 1st, Owners Corps who ignore warnings of a potential danger to people working in or for their buildings face possible fines of millions of dollars, while EC members could be jailed.

"Worst case, which would be recklessness causing risk of death or serious injury, it's up to a $3 million fine for the Owners Corp and $600,000 fines and/or five years in jail for individual committee members," says Michael. "And your EC insurance won't cover you – deliberate negligence will invalidate most strata insurance policies."

This is one area where feigning ignorance definitely isn't bliss. "Courts take a dim view of this," says Michael.  "Executive Committee members pretending they didn't know could be subjected to higher fines."

You can access Michael's Work Health and Safety Q&A HERE.

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