Strata Balcony Blues

Every now and again someone raises the question of unsafe and collapsing balconies (and balustrading) in strata buildings.

The warnings are timely because there are regular collapses as reminder of what can go wrong.  Unsafe balconies and balustrades are an ever present problem that has troubled schemes, owners and managers for a long time (and continues to do so).

In most cases the problem arises from one or more of three causes.

Defective Construction – the balcony or balustrade is not properly designed or constructed so it fails.  This is more common with balustrades when the lower fixing points corrode prematurely and fail under load.

Deterioration - over time balconies deteriorate and lack of repair or maintenance leads to balcony or balustrade failure.  This is more likely with timber decks and balconies than concrete, but if the building has concrete cancer it can occur in both.

Overloading - because too much weight is placed on the balcony.  This weight can be large pots or planters (especially when soaked with water), spas or small pools which can weigh from 1 to 4 tonnes and from too many people (especially on celebrations like New Years Eve, Australia Day and Mardi Gras in Sydney) if the balcony has great views.

There are many strategies available to schemes to deal with these risks and most strata corporations adopt them all.  From dealing with building defects, regularly inspecting the safety of balconies, undertaking routine and special maintenance, warning owners of load limits, introducing by-laws about maximum balcony use and acting on dangerous or foolhardy behaviours by apartment occupiers.

But despite all that balcony failures happen. 

The most renowned case in Australia occurred in Western Australia in the 1990’s and took over 10 years to resolve because the strata corporation had also allowed it’s building insurance to lapse.

So, watch out for your balconies and balustrades so we don’t all fall down.

Francesco …