Undisclosed Hammering Strata Neighbour Causes Sale Contract Cancellation & Damages
Thillagaratnam v Doan [2022] WASC 185
GoStrata’s CaseWatch is a short, sharp and easy-to-understand review of important and interesting Court and Tribunal decisions affecting Australian strata title stakeholders.
Quick Read
This 2020 West Australian Supreme Court decision is about a dispute over a contract to buy an apartment in a medium sized Perth strata title building. The upstairs neighbour had been a long term serious problem in the strata building [causing the apartment to be unliveable] which the buyer only found out about later. She wanted the contact cancelled saying the sellers knew of and failed to disclose it in breach of the sale contract and other laws. After considering evidence about the neighbour’s behaviour, the sale contract and other laws, the West Australian Supreme Court concluded that the conduct affected the use of the strata apartment, the sellers knew and fraudulently misrepresented that. So, it cancelled the contract, effectively giving the buyer back what she paid and damages for other expenses she had incurred whilst the owner. It’s a rare and surprising decision where strata resident behaviour affects strata lot sales and values which is a warning to strata owners to be careful when selling.
Implications
The key implications of this strata case are as follows.
Long term repeated and serious bad behaviour by strata residents may need disclosure in strata sales.
At least in WA, if that materially and seriously affects buyers’ use or enjoyment of a strata lot needs to be disclosed to buyers.
Complaints to the strata building will be relevant to disputes about sale disclosures.