Water leak & damage in Strata Unit

Hi everyone,

I need advice regarding damage to my investment unti (NSW) from a water leak above that strata will not help with.

I have had no rental income for a month so far because of it .

Tenants moved out of the unit one month ago. After inspecting property discovered water was leaking from unit above . The wall was wet below ceiling in hallway outside the bathroom and the door frame into bathroom was wet to touch.

Strata sent plumber round to inspect leak and bathroom in unit above. In the meantime I scaped paint from walls and they began to dry out however the woodwork around the door remained wet with water droplets forming . Strata plumber reported that no leak could be detected and suggested it was a one off water spill that would dry out.

I now had a bucket in the doorway catching the slow but constant drip. Strata manager and plumber would not be convinced otherwise and insisted I wait to see if things dried out. Over the next 2 weeks the strata manager did not respond to emails or return calls. I involved the REA who had been renting the place out for me as he was known to the strata manager. REA inspected leak/damage and twice called the strata manager (once in my presence) to report the leak is constant.

In some parts the wood in the doorframe is so water logged I am pushing my finger through it and wet mush is falling out. There is an architrave light switch that obviously has water damage around it.

After another week and several more heated conversations, the strata manager sent the plumbers back out. The plumbers then report that the unit above is the source of the leak and requires maintenance (Reseal bath, replace cracked tiles around bath and shower taps, regrout tiles and a new shower screen). It was recommended the repairs be carried out urgently

The strata manager then washes his hands of the whole thing stating it is not a strata issue and the owner of the above unit has to take action. All he will do is give me the name of the REA that rents the unit upstairs.

I went in person to see this REA who tells me strata informed her and the owner is arranging a builder to go round. Its now one week later, the REA does not know if any repairs have been carried out or are scheduled and all she can do is email the owner again. I cant repair the damage to my property until the problem is fixed and my REA says he cant rent it until this happens either (theres the obvious electrocution risk from the light switch).

The NSW Strata Management Act does have a section (63) about strata carrying out repairs that an owner is responsible for and being able to force the owner to reimburse them but it is not clear enough to know if this applies in my situation. This would involve the strata managers cooperation which i feel unlikely to get.

Any disputes with strata first have to be dealt with through mediation thro the NSW Dept of Fair Trading which involves an application, a fee and a 2-4 week wait for the mediation to occur.

I dont know what to do next any input would be much appreciated.