OCN in the Media

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Greens say ACT government should audit privately-owned buildings for flammable cladding

2020-10-07T16:23:31+11:00

21 SEPTEMBER 2019 The ACT Greens say the government should consider auditing Canberra's apartment buildings for potentially dangerous flammable cladding. The government launched an audit of territory-owned buildings in July 2017, weeks after the deadly Grenfell Tower fire in London put the global spotlight on the use of aluminum and polyethylene cladding. But the ACT government isn't inspecting privately-owned buildings, relying instead on insurance companies to pass on information about the [...]

Greens say ACT government should audit privately-owned buildings for flammable cladding2020-10-07T16:23:31+11:00

Combustible cladding will ‘test the owners corporation model’

2020-10-07T16:24:31+11:00

3 SEPTEMBER 2019 Fixing combustible cladding will require technical skills and understanding beyond some owners corporations – especially in smaller buildings – and could prompt a rethink about the best way to manage housing stock, Victoria's cladding tsar Dan O'Brien says. 40 per cent of the 406 structures deemed "high risk" to date were three storeys or below, Mr O'Brien told a property industry audience last week. The lack of sophistication of [...]

Combustible cladding will ‘test the owners corporation model’2020-10-07T16:24:31+11:00

Number of Airbnb listings in NSW could be slashed by proposed new fire safety rules, expert warns

2020-10-07T16:25:22+11:00

3 SEPTEMBER 2019 The number of properties offered on Airbnb could be slashed thanks to a NSW government proposal to impose stringent new fire safety rules on homes being let short-term. To bring their homes up to the required level, owners and lead tenants could face bills of thousands of dollars to fit integrated smoke alarms in bedrooms and corridors, as well as heat sensors in kitchens, fire extinguishers, fire blankets, [...]

Number of Airbnb listings in NSW could be slashed by proposed new fire safety rules, expert warns2020-10-07T16:25:22+11:00

Building defects cost Aussie home owners an average $6,434

2020-10-07T16:26:28+11:00

28 AUGUST 2019 Australia’s homeowners have been forced to fork out $10.5 billion in the last 10 years to address building defects, with the average apartment defect bill hitting $6,434, new research reveals. And while the average bills were less than $10,000, 4 per cent of apartment owners have had to cough up more than $50,000 to address issues. While the sum is significant, Owners Corporation Network (OCN) executive officer Karen [...]

Building defects cost Aussie home owners an average $6,4342020-10-07T16:26:28+11:00

ACT government calls for strong federal anti-phoenixing laws

2020-10-07T16:27:24+11:00

22 AUGUST 2019 The ACT government is calling for the urgent introduction of strong federal anti-phoenixing laws, arguing it cannot "adequately" punish Canberra's dodgy builders without them. But apartment owners say the territory government can do more, suggesting it could refuse to sell public land to companies with histories of poor construction work. Owners Corporation Network president Gary Petherbridge said people stung by phoenixed companies were left emotionally stressed, out of [...]

ACT government calls for strong federal anti-phoenixing laws2020-10-07T16:27:24+11:00

NSW government’s short-term letting reforms met with mixed reception

2020-10-07T16:28:15+11:00

21 AUGUST 2019 It could be at least another six months before Airbnb is regulated in NSW as the state government released its short-term letting reforms for public comment more than a year after reform was first announced. Owners Corporation Network director Jane Hearn said the policy had been watered down. “We are shocked that a loophole has already been introduced,” Ms Hearn said. “The policy has been revised … it [...]

NSW government’s short-term letting reforms met with mixed reception2020-10-07T16:28:15+11:00

Australia’s building crisis fix will cost $6.2 billion: report

2020-10-07T16:29:17+11:00

20 AUGUST 2019 The cost of fixing the unfolding national building crisis, including widespread residential apartment block defects and the use of dangerous combustible cladding, could soar past $6.2 billion, according to a new economic analysis. More than 3400 residential unit blocks across the country have potentially flammable exterior cladding, according to a report commissioned by the construction union. Those high-rise blocks take in about 170,000 apartments. In NSW, hundreds of [...]

Australia’s building crisis fix will cost $6.2 billion: report2020-10-07T16:29:17+11:00

ACT Government needs to go after developers and toughen laws, say unit owners

2020-10-07T16:30:17+11:00

20 AUGUST 2019 The ACT Government was on the right track by putting property developers in its sights with a potential licensing scheme but it needed to go further if it was serious about fixing the building quality issue in the ACT, according to the ACT Owners Corporation Network. President Gary Petherbridge, commenting after Tuesday night’s Four Corners report Cracking Up that highlighted Canberra’s decade-old Elara apartments debacle, said the issues [...]

ACT Government needs to go after developers and toughen laws, say unit owners2020-10-07T16:30:17+11:00

NSW government scrambles for answers at building defects inquiry

2020-10-07T16:33:38+11:00

12 AUGUST 2019 The pain of NSW's building crisis was captured in Mascot Towers owner Vijay Vital's testimony at the inquiry, when he broke down describing the loss of his home. Mascot Towers was evacuated on June 14 due to cracks but engineers have yet to find the cause. "I stand here as a parent and my daughter asks me "when can I go home?" he said amid tears. "I have [...]

NSW government scrambles for answers at building defects inquiry2020-10-07T16:33:38+11:00
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