Our fire inspection report found that a unit entrance door had to be replaced… Now the door is not a fire door and corridor noise and a draft is coming into the unit… Do we have the right to ask for the new door? – Roman, NSW

Q: Our fire inspection report found that a unit entrance door had to be replaced. I asked my strata and they sent a certified company to replace the door.

The door was replaced by their contractor, who stuffed up by shortening it too much. Now the door is not a fire door and corridor noise and a draft is coming into the unit. I sent an email to make the strata and the service provider aware.

Do we have the right to ask for the new door, as they are talking about putting some trims to extend the door and make them old again while charging the money for the new door?

 

A: You and your strata should have the right to ask the contractor to fix or replace the door as it is mandatory that it complies with NSW fire safety regulations.

As for payment, you may want to talk to your strata committee or strata manager to work out who is responsible for payment, and what is fair given the situation.

It may also be worth bringing up that a non-compliant door may negatively affect your strata property’s insurance and leave your owners corporation open to fines.