A commercial unit owner that sued its body corporate over water damage has failed to prove its case, Queensland’s Body Corporate and Community Management agency has ruled.

Jodeci Australia, an owner in Fairfield Corporate Park, sought an order forcing the body corporate to undertake repairs and reimburse it $72,864 for lost rent, plus rent lost while the repairs are completed.

It based its application on an expert report by Exigo, hired by CHU Underwriting, but the BCCM adjudicator says Jodeci has not shown that all the work described in the report is required or exclusively the responsibility of the body corporate.

Jodeci reported a water leak in November 2023 and the body corporate manager hired specialists to conduct repairs.

Broker Marsh contacted CHU about an insurance claim and CHU engaged a repairer for make-safe work and to report on the damage.

Water continued to enter the roof and slab and in January 2024 Jodeci’s tenant stopped paying rent because the building was uninhabitable.

The insurer paid out for Jodeci’s lost rent between February and August 2024, and made a cash settlement to the body corporate, which had conducted repairs.

CHU would not cover all the body corporate’s loss because it said some remediation was not related to the claimed event.

Jodeci disputed that the body corporate had taken all reasonable steps to investigate and carry out repairs to its property and common areas within a reasonable time.

But in dismissing the case, the adjudicator says Jodeci has not acknowledged repairs done by the body corporate and failed to begin repairs for which the insurance settlement was paid to the body corporate, which was sufficient to cover the repairs for claim-related damage and for loss of rent while the work was completed.

Read the adjudication here.