defects

Building defects in strata units: unstoppable force meets immovable object

2021-10-18T15:03:03+11:00

15 October 2021 An owner in a new apartment tower at Canterbury said yesterday: “We took a risk buying into a new apartment, but we didn’t realise it would be this kind of risk.” The alleged risk in question is the possible need to evacuate due to structural instability. For some time now it has been a self-evident truth that new residential strata schemes can be plagued with building defects which [...]

Building defects in strata units: unstoppable force meets immovable object2021-10-18T15:03:03+11:00

Four in 10 new apartment buildings have major defects: NSW Building Commissioner

2021-10-11T11:00:14+11:00

11 October 2021 Almost four in 10 new apartment buildings in NSW have serious defects, costing an average $331,829 per building to fix, a new survey has found, although resolutions are rare. The Owners Corporation Network, which represents apartment owners, welcomed the survey results. “As the peak body for residential strata owners, the Owners Corporation Network strongly supports research into the incidence and impacts of serious defects,” said chief executive Karen [...]

Four in 10 new apartment buildings have major defects: NSW Building Commissioner2021-10-11T11:00:14+11:00

Star Ratings System to Shine a Light on Dodgy Developers

2021-10-05T12:19:28+11:00

5 August 2021 It has a whiff of narcissism about it – “go on, tell me how great I am” – but NSW is about to introduce a voluntary star rating system for new apartment building projects. It’s a slow-burn strategy to eventually freeze the worst players out of the market, but it has been welcomed by owner advocates such as Karen Stiles, executive officer at the Owners Corporation Network (OCN), who says [...]

Star Ratings System to Shine a Light on Dodgy Developers2021-10-05T12:19:28+11:00

Meet the man on a mission to restore buyers’ trust in off-the-plan homes

2021-09-27T12:41:42+10:00

24 September 2021 To some, he’s a knight in shining armour. To others, he’s the devil incarnate. But wherever anyone stands on the rampaging NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, cleaning up the mess of shoddy apartment construction breaking buyers’ hearts and their bank balances, absolutely no one is indifferent. .. At the peak body of apartment-owners, the Owners Corporation Network (OCN), executive officer Karen Stiles says nipping these problems in the [...]

Meet the man on a mission to restore buyers’ trust in off-the-plan homes2021-09-27T12:41:42+10:00

Developer Loses Unit Defect Fight

2021-08-31T14:40:52+10:00

27 August 2021 Residents of a prestigious Strathfield apartment block built by companies associated with husband and wife developers Antoine and Georgette Bechara are the latest unit owners fighting to fix defects including in waterproofing and flammable cladding. NSW Supreme Court documents show the Becharas’ companies tried to pass the blame onto the designers, the architects and the private certifiers Essential Certifiers, whose owner Bernard Cohen had 28 disciplinary findings against [...]

Developer Loses Unit Defect Fight2021-08-31T14:40:52+10:00

Shonky block shock – Defects in a third of apartments

2021-08-31T13:15:42+10:00

28 August 2021 STRESSED unit owners are reportedly being driven to the brink of suicide by home repair bills reaching up to $50,000, with more than a third of apartments built in NSW in the past six years being listed as having “a serious defect of some kind”. Lachlan Leeming Daily Telegraph Read full article here

Shonky block shock – Defects in a third of apartments2021-08-31T13:15:42+10:00

‘Nightmare’: Changed orders keep buyers locked into defective Parramatta towers

2021-08-16T09:53:10+10:00

12 August 2021 Buyers of apartments in two 22-storey Parramatta towers with serious defects fear changes to orders imposed on a developer by the NSW building watchdog will strip away their right to rescind contracts and get their deposits back. The purchasers of apartments off the plan in the Imperial complex in Parramatta’s CBD are demanding to know why changes were made to a prohibition order last month. Sydney Morning Herald [...]

‘Nightmare’: Changed orders keep buyers locked into defective Parramatta towers2021-08-16T09:53:10+10:00

First Fifty Developers To Be Risk Rated Using New Tool

2022-08-29T10:41:56+10:00

OCN MEDIA RELEASE:  28 JULY 2021 Executive Officer at Owners Corporation Network, Karen Stiles said the tool will take the guesswork out of buying an apartment in NSW. "The last thing prospective owners need is to spend their life savings buying into a problematic building, but in the past consumers have had to rely on the developer's word that the property is a safe and sound investment," Ms Stiles said. "This tool [...]

First Fifty Developers To Be Risk Rated Using New Tool2022-08-29T10:41:56+10:00

New iCIRT tool will rate home builders and developers

2021-07-29T18:56:33+10:00

29 JULY 2021 Home builders will get a rating of one to five stars based on how shonky their work is, in a move aimed at restoring confidence in Sydney’s new builds and leaving dodgy developers “nowhere to hide”. Minister for Better Regulation Kevin Anderson said the new ratings system would end the days of people moving into defective apartments. Owners Corporation Network executive officer Karen Stiles said the move would [...]

New iCIRT tool will rate home builders and developers2021-07-29T18:56:33+10:00

Skyview apartments developer Toplace agrees to be liable for ‘defects’ for 20 years

2021-07-27T12:29:45+10:00

26 July 2021 Sydney developer Toplace has agreed to be liable for any structural defects in its new Skyview towers complex for 20 years, in order to get buyers into their apartments. The agreement is the first of its kind and is expected to set a new benchmark of accountability for developers across the state. Josh Bavas ABC News > Read the full article here

Skyview apartments developer Toplace agrees to be liable for ‘defects’ for 20 years2021-07-27T12:29:45+10:00
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