Q: I had an insurance claim, which I reported through strata and claimed through its corresponding insurance. The claim was approved, but the owners corporation instructed the insurance company to deposit the money in the strata bank account for accounting purposes. I was told to complete the repairs first (which I paid for) and send the invoices/receipts for the reimbursement. It has been almost three months and my money still has not been reimbursed. The reason they provided me is that they are chasing $12,000 from owners in arrears, and once that money comes in they can allocate accordingly. They have offered to credit my account for a year and pay the rest when the fund is available. The options are not viable for me to accept. What are my options to recover the money as soon as possible? Can the owners corporation legally hold the money from the insurance claim?

Q: I had an insurance claim, which I reported through strata and claimed through its corresponding insurance. The claim was approved, but the owners corporation instructed the insurance company to deposit the money in the strata bank account for accounting purposes.

I was told to complete the repairs first (which I paid for) and send the invoices/receipts for the reimbursement. It has been almost three months and my money still has not been reimbursed.

The reason they provided me is that they are chasing $12,000 from owners in arrears, and once that money comes in they can allocate accordingly.

They have offered to credit my account for a year and pay the rest when the fund is available. The options are not viable for me to accept. What are my options to recover the money as soon as possible? Can the owners corporation legally hold the money from the insurance claim?

 

A: This may be somewhat of a difficult matter to resolve. It sounds like there aren’t enough funds due to all the levies in arrears, hence the delay in your strata committee being unable to reimburse your owed amount for repairs.

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