Enter your email Address

  • Home
  • What is strata?
    • Strata Legislation
    • What is Strata?
    • Strata Property Basics: Strata Owners Corporation
    • Strata Finance
  • Strata Topics
    • Strata Information By State
      • New South Wales
      • Queensland
      • Victoria
      • Australian Capital Territory
      • South Australia
      • Tasmania
      • Western Australia
      • Northern Territory
    • Strata Information By Topic
      • COVID-19
      • By-Laws & Legislation
      • Smoking
      • Parking
      • Noise & Neighbours
      • Insurance
      • Pets
      • Your Levies
      • New Law Reform
      • Maintenance & Common Property
      • Committee Concerns
      • NBN & Telecommunications
      • Building Defects
      • Renting / Selling / Buying Property
      • Strata Managers
      • Building Managers & Caretakers
      • Strata Plan / Strata Inspection Report
      • Apartment Living Sustainability
  • Blog
    • Newsletter Archives
  • The Strata Magazine
    • The NSW Strata Magazine
    • The QLD Strata Magazine
    • The VIC Strata Magazine
    • The WA Strata Magazine
  • Advertise With Us
    • Site Sponsors
    • LookUpStrata Site Advertising
    • Your Own Branded Newsletter
  • About Us
    • Testimonials for LookUpStrata
  • Help
    • Ask A Strata Question
    • Q&As – about the LookUpStrata site
    • Sitemap

LookUpStrata

Australia's Strata Title Information Site

Whitbread Insurance Brokers
Australia's Top Property Blog Dedicated to Strata Living
You are here: Home / Defects / Defects NSW / NSW: First Steps for Reporting Apartment Building Defects

NSW: First Steps for Reporting Apartment Building Defects

Published July 28, 2020 By The LookUpStrata Team Leave a Comment Last Updated July 30, 2020

Sharing is caring!

0shares

This article about reporting apartment building defects in NSW has been provided by David Chandler OAM, NSW Building Commissioner at NSW Department of Customer Service.

The NSW Government is committed to achieving and maintaining best practice regulation across all the industries that it regulates, and the building sector is no exception.

GET NOTIFIED WHEN WE PUBLISH NEW Q&As, NEWS AND ARTICLES TO THE SITE

The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (D&BP Act) and The Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 (RAB Act) passed by NSW Parliament in June are designed to restore public confidence in the building industry and are based on broad engagement with industry stakeholders and the wider public.

The RAB Act comes into effect on 1 September 2020. It solidifies the powers of the regulator to investigate defects in residential apartment buildings, including requiring rectification of defective work and enforcing penalties.

The Office of the NSW Building Commissioner will have new resources on the ground in the lead up to 1 September to implement a new program of audits for buildings nearing completion and existing projects.

Advert NSW Mag Banner

First steps for reporting apartment building defects

A common issue is that many owners of apartment buildings with material defects have not notified NSW Fair Trading of their problems – and sometimes the reporting is years after owners corporations first became aware of the issues.

NSW Fair Trading is the first point of contact for anyone with or unable to resolve a building defect problem with a building practitioner.

The Office of the NSW Building Commissioner is working closely with NSW Fair Trading to resolve problems when defects are reported – and we urge owners corporations to promptly report any concerns to NSW Fair Trading Make a Complaint as soon as they identify major defects to ensure the best outcome.

Owners corporations and their advisers have a duty of care to ensure defective buildings are being dealt with appropriately and in a timely manner to help protect existing and future owners.

Advice to buyers of new apartment buildings approaching completion

We’re less than two months away from the RAB Act coming into effect. Some developers may attempt to have occupation certificates approved ahead of this date when works may not be fully complete.

During this period, if apartment purchasers, builders and certifiers are being put under pressure to complete and/or settle when building work is clearly still happening, please contact NSW Fair Trading online.

The majority of developers are delivering quality compliant apartment buildings

While there are a small number of industry players who don’t do the right thing, the majority are good developers building good quality projects. Consumers can have increased confidence in the market if they or their advisers do a little homework.

Prospective buyers should ask developers about projects they have completed in the last six years. They could then do some research on these properties by inspecting and asking owners about their experience. They can also check NSW Fair Trading public registers for the compliance history and current status of contactors, tradespersons and builders.

NSW Fair Trading continues to remove registrations and licences from players not doing the right thing. There are several parties currently being reviewed, including certifiers, builders and tradespeople like waterproofing trades. Information regarding those players who have lost their licences can be checked via Service NSW.

Those developers, builders and certifiers not doing the right thing are on notice

Industry players that are doing the wrong thing – and developers that engage them – should be on notice that come 1 September, the goalposts will have moved. There will be consequences if they continue to serve up sub-standard buildings or certify projects that aren’t up to scratch. This includes manufacturers who are prepared to endorse substandard work.

Developers are also reminded that they are to have submitted their developer bonds and have as-built drawings and manuals available for their buildings prior to settlement.

We acknowledge that sometimes things may not always go to plan, and if this happens the Office of the NSW Building Commissioner and NSW Fair Trading is happy to work with developers and other parties in resolving any problems.

This post appears in Strata News #382.

Have a question or something to add to the article? Leave a comment below.

Embed

Read next:

  • NSW: Think strata construction is bad? Strata records are worse!
  • The pilot NSW Strata Portal is now being trialed – Strata Community feedback is important before 30th June 2020

David Chandler OAM
NSW Building Commissioner at NSW Department of Customer Service

Visit Strata Building Defects OR NSW Strata Legislation pages.

Looking for strata information concerning your state? For state-specific strata information, take a look here.

After a free PDF of this article? Log into your existing LookUpStrata Account to download the printable file. Not a member? Simple – join for free on our Registration page.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search For Strata Articles

  • Advert Stratabox
  • StrataBox Advert
  • Advert: StrataLoans
  • Advert: StrataLoans
  • Advert: StrataLoans
Subscribe Newsletter

TESTIMONIAL

"The newsletter is very helpful and gives great guidance with commonly asked questions." Gayle, Lot Owner – November 2020
"I love your regular emails and now this fantastic magazine! Keep up the great work. " David, Lot Owner – August 2020

Quick Login

Log In
Register Lost Password

Categories

  • COVID-19
  • Ask A Strata Question
  • New South Wales
  • Queensland
  • Victoria
  • Australian Capital Territory
  • South Australia
  • Tasmania
  • Western Australia
  • Northern Territory
  • ByLaws & Legislation
  • Smoking
  • Parking
  • Noise & Neighbours
  • Insurance
  • Pets
  • Levies
  • Law Reform
  • Maintenance & Common Property
  • Committee Concerns
  • NBN & Telecommunications
  • Building Defects
  • Renting / Selling / Buying
  • Strata Managers
  • Building Managers and Caretakers
  • Strata Reports / Plans
  • Sustainability

Recent Comments

  • Nikki Jovicic on NSW: STRA Code of Conduct to commence in December 2020
  • Nikki Jovicic on QLD: Q&A Body Corporate Rules and Insurance for Duplexes
  • Nikki Jovicic on WA: Q&A What Do Strata Levies Cover? How are Increases Calculated?
  • Nikki Jovicic on WA: Reforms to WA Strata Legislation – As a Lot Owner, Should I Care?
  • Nikki Jovicic on QLD: A Recipe for Failure – Lodging an Adjudication Application
  • Glenda Davidson on WA: Q&A Lot entitlements and exclusive use or special privileges bylaws
  • Matthew Jenkins on NSW: COVID-19 Legal FAQs: Strata Solutions & Toolkit – Maintenance & Safety
  • Jason Robards on NSW: Q&A Duty to Maintain and Repair Common Property
  • Todd Garsden - Mahoneys on QLD: Car Park Reconfiguration
  • stephen on NSW: Q&A Defamation in Owners Corporations Communication

WEBSITE INFORMATION

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions of Use
  • Terms of Use for Comments and Community Discussion
  • Advertising Disclosure
  • Sitemap

SCA Membership

SCA WA Membership

ASK A STRATA QUESTION

Disclaimer

The opinions and/or views expressed on the LookUpStrata site, including, but not limited to, our blogs and comments, represent the thoughts of individual bloggers and our online communities, and not those necessarily of LookUpStrata Pty Ltd. In all instances, information should not be taken as advice and independent legal advice should be consulted.

CONTACT US VIA EMAIL

Copyright © 2021 · LookUpStrata ® Pty Ltd · All rights reserved