Stormy forecast a wake-up call for strata scheme residents
Posted on Monday, October 27 2014 at 2:14 PM
With the storm season fast approaching for Australia’s north-eastern coasts, thousands of unit owners throughout Queensland are being urged by peak industry body Strata Community Australia (SCA) to begin planning for what could well be a tumultuous storm season.
“Bodies Corporate need to ensure that things
such as the condition of rooves are checked and that gutters and drain pipes
are kept clear,” president of SCA (Qld) Simon Barnard says.
“Tree branches close to units and apartments
should be removed and loose items around the property need to be secured. It’s
also very important for Bodies Corporate to review their property’s storm
insurance to make sure they’re fully covered.”
The industry body for strata and community title
management in the sunshine state Strata Community Australia (Qld) is backing a
warning from the state Community Recovery and Resilience Minister David
Crisafulli for people to start preparing emergency plans before the potentially
destructive weather hits.
He points out that homeowners and residents
throughout Queensland should be doing everything they can to prepare for
possible heavy storms and cyclones. “This includes determining where you and
your family will go if forced to evacuate and ensuring you have enough food,
water and supplies to last at least three days,” Barnard says.
The Bureau of Meteorology has indicated that up
to four cyclones will form this storm season and at least one could cross the
coast. Severe storms have also been predicted along with flooding in some parts
of the state.
“Just because a property is insured for storm
damage, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s also covered for related incidents
such as flooding, landslides, or personal injury,” he adds.
“It’s also important to remember that strata
scheme policies do not cover your contents and personal items.”
New statistics released by the Queensland
Department of Justice and Attorney-General show a three per cent growth in the
last year for strata titled lots across the state. There are now more than
43,000 community titles schemes with 409,000 community titled lots in
Queensland. The Queensland Plan released earlier this year also echoes this
surge in high-density development and has been predicted to carry the strata
industry in Queensland to upwards of $100 billion in replacement value over the
next decade.
Barnard goes on to say: “Northern Queensland
residents will be happy to know that the strata building resilience project has
completed the first 100 assessments in North Queensland. The initiative is
focused on improving resilience to severe weather so that customers can receive
sustainable premium reductions.
“So far, more than 3,000 lot owners have
benefited from the assessments with an average saving of 11 per cent with
policy renewal, or through a credit if the customer’s policy has been renewed
since the project commenced in April.”
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