I've seen lots of news about strata owners in Sydney being affected by defects in their buildings. Is this the same in WA? What are the warranty periods for WA apartments?
I'm an owner in a relatively new apartment building in Perth. I've seen lots of news about strata owners in Sydney being affected by defects in their buildings. Is this the same in WA? What are the warranty periods for WA apartments? What should we watch out for?
Research shows that about 52% of apartment owners in WA have had or are experiencing defects.
The baseline is six years. That's the statutory warranty period for any of these defects and the construction contracts that are signed up and the nature of whatever the problem is, may determine whether there's any extension on that six years.
For argument's sake, the construction contract might have said that the membrane to your balconies has a 15 year warranty, for instance. Just because your six years is expired, don't automatically assume that you may not have any coverage, there's a lot more exploration that can be done after that, in understanding even the original building contract and what was committed to and those sorts of things. If this is a relatively new building, there are many materials out there that do have 10 or 15 year warranties on them, so it's a good idea to try and tease those out. Understand what are those warranties on those materials and are they a contributing factor to the problem?
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Bruce McKenzie is National Manager for Commercial Services and Major Projects at Sedgwick's Building Consulting Division, the largest claims management corporation in the world. With over 36 years' experience as a licenced building contractor, Bruce has received multiple state building excellence awards and a National Building Award through Master Builders Australia.
Since joining Sedgwick a decade ago, Bruce has led the growth of its Commercial Services Division, managing major building projects nationally across the insurance and private sectors — including property damage, catastrophe events and large-scale remediation. He has acted as expert witness on high-profile litigation matters, most notably the Lacrosse Tower combustible cladding case, and served as Program Director for Cladding Safety Victoria, overseeing the recladding of over 40 buildings as part of the Victorian Government's $600 million rectification program. In 2022 he commenced a secondment as Program Director for Project Intervene with the NSW Office of the Building Commissioner, addressing serious defects in recently constructed buildings.
Bruce is a licensed builder in NSW, QLD, VIC and ACT, and holds an Advanced Diploma in Building & Construction Management and a Diploma of Project Management.
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