Skyview Towers, Castle Hill Alleged Defects
Sonya Acton2021-05-19T12:11:53+10:0013 May 2021 ABC News > View recording here
Mascot owners’ best hope is for $40m firesale
Sonya Acton2021-05-14T15:59:01+10:005 May 2021 Apartment owners in Sydney’s Mascot Towers will vote this month on a $40 million proposal to sell their troubled apartment tower as a redevelopment site, with many resigned to losing up to 80 per cent on their property as the most realistic way to end their two-year nightmare. Apartment advocacy group Owners Corporation Network says a review of NSW strata laws under way should reduce the scope for [...]
Dodgy Home Builders – Seven News
Sonya Acton2021-04-30T12:09:58+10:0025 April 2021 As if they weren't expensive enough, new Sydney home prices are being pushed up by sky rocketing insurance claims that are gouging taxpayers for more than $700 million. Claims have surged for defective work by dodgy builders - some who've since disappeared. OCN's Executive Officer, Karen Stiles, was interviewed for this news article. Seven News > View recording here
Sydney building ‘nightmare’ set to cost Maryam her life savings
Sonya Acton2021-03-22T12:43:15+11:0020 MARCH 2021 A Sydney apartment buyer stands to lose her life savings or be forced to buy into a 300-unit development that she has been warned contains major defects. Maryam Behrouz’s pursuit of the great Australian dream has become “a nightmare” after being told she must settle the $625,500 purchase in Kellyville because the building has been ticked off by a private certifier. When Ms Behrouz tracked down the certifier’s [...]
Developer of Sydney’s ‘worst’ tower ordered to fix faults
Sonya Acton2021-03-31T13:51:52+11:0015 MARCH 2021 The developer of a 16-storey apartment tower in western Sydney, which has been singled out by NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler as one of the worst he has inspected, has been handed orders forcing it to fix serious defects. The tower at 93 Auburn Road in Auburn has joined a growing list of apartment buildings to have been slapped with orders in recent weeks as the commissioner steps up [...]
NSW Building Commissioner Crackdown on Dodgy Developers
Sonya Acton2021-03-19T11:32:40+11:0015 MARCH 2021 Serious defects continue to damage the reputation and value of many Sydney apartment towers. Channel 7 News > Watch Clip Here
Sydney building commissioner raises standards, builds confidence in apartment industry
Sonya Acton2021-02-26T09:10:50+11:0024 FEBRUARY 2021 The new building commissioner appointed to raise standards in NSW’s construction industry – and his willingness to use his unprecedented legal powers to do so – is having a major impact on the standard of projects around the state. Six months on from being given the right to enter and inspect construction sites, issue rectification and stop-work orders, and prevent settlement on sub-standard properties, industry watchers say David [...]
Developers forced to fix defects after commissioner wields new powers
Sonya Acton2021-02-22T16:20:26+11:0018 FEBRUARY 2021 Developers have been slapped with orders to fix serious defects in apartment buildings and townhouses, as the NSW Building Commissioner signals he will not hesitate using his strongest powers to stamp out shoddy work in the construction industry. Almost six months after his powers came into force, commissioner David Chandler has issued prohibition orders in the past week to developers of four buildings in Sydney and Forster, north [...]
Developer says building standards are rarely followed
Sonya Acton2021-02-02T11:20:05+11:00A SYDNEY apartment block with serious structural problems which could cost each homeowner tens of thousands of dollars to fix has been shut down before completion. But despite NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler uncovering holes in walls and “serious structural compromise” of the Strathfield building, the project’s 45-year-old property developer claimed he’s never been on a job site where Australian building standards have ever been fully followed. The OandE Developments worksite [...]
Developer Handover Documents – Building Manual Content Requirement
Sonya Acton2021-02-01T10:50:45+11:0019 JANUARY 2021 OCN made a submission to the Australian Building Codes Board on the documentation that should be required by law to be given to owners corporations by the developer. When this is legislated and enforced – and the current practice of ignoring requirements for handover documentation is ended – it will greatly assist owners in new buildings. >Download PDF