Penthouse owner questions repair-bill split

Charles Shrimpton is asking $3.5 million for his Metropolis apartment. Photo / Greg Bowker

A Metropolis penthouse owner paying $28,000 a year in body corporate fees has put his place on the market for $3.5 million.

Charles Shrimpton, who owns the level-37, 267sq m apartment, which comes with three basement carparks, wonders how much fees can be lowered with new body corporate chairman Tony Howard in charge.

Howard had served on the body corporate in previous years, Shrimpton said, who is questioning why builder Brookfield Multiplex was not paying more towards a $4 million repair bill for the building.

"Tony Howard wasn't on the committee last year, but he was a few years ago, back when it would have been possible to recover the $4 million from Multiplex," Shrimpton said. "So it smacks a bit when he simply blames the previous committee when he could have done something about it himself then."

Howard has said the remedial levy of $4 million to repair defects in the construction is payable proportionally by each owner and is due to be paid by October 31, and that Multiplex has made only a small contribution.

Howard said he was a committee member from 2001 to early 2007.

"But I was not on the committee when the claim against Multiplex was made," he said, calling for people to move on.

"Minutes of [the] first official committee meeting [is] going out to all owners via our website. This has never happened before. Financials to April 30 are going out to all owners ... again via our website. This has never happened before. The chairman's monthly report will go out [in the] first week in June to all owners via our website."

Shrimpton said he had sold properties in Metropolis for almost $10 million and had owned places there for a decade.

Howard said Shrimpton was against the new committee.

"This is a pity, as we will attempt to achieve a lot more in one year than the previous committee has achieved in six years," Howard said.

"It is a pity he will not let us get on with the huge task ahead to remedy all the non-action by the previous committee. I also wish people like him would stand for the committee and contribute."

Shrimpton said he did not resent $4 million being spent on repairs and that the building was not leaky.

"There was a detailed review done of the building from top to bottom looking for water issues and anything that wasn't done to spec," he said.

"The main areas are around the pool on level eight and the deck above it on level nine. But there are also other things such as replacing the light boxes on the top of the building.

"The $4 million is a lot of money but in the context of the cost of the building it's not unreasonable after 12 years. I have to take my hat off to [developer] Andrew Krukziener for that."