A recent survey of 14,000 residential strata managers (4 storeys or higher) has revealed that four in 10 new apartment buildings have major defects costing an average of $331,829 per building to rectify, with resolutions rarely being met.
Waterproofing was the most common major defect at 23%, followed by fire safety at 14%. Furthermore, one in 10 buildings were found to have structural and enclosure defects while an extended period of up to 12 months was required to rectify such defects for only 38% of owner corporations.
It was found that the most common barrier to resolving defects was sourcing funds (at 15%), followed by lack of awareness about rights and responsibilities (at 14%), and disagreement among the owner's corporation at (10%).
Only 15% of buildings with serious defects were reported to Fair Trading while litigation through the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal/Supreme Court was even less effective with only 5% of cases reaching an outcome.
As such, the survey is set to continue for the next 6 to 10 years in a push to build public confidence in apartment buildings while highlighting the need to reform strata documentation for before and after an apartment complex is built.
For more information please visit https://www.domain.com.au/news/four-in-10-new-apartment-buildings-have-major-defects-nsw-building-commissioner-1093928/?utm_campaign=strap-masthead&utm_source=smh&utm_medium=link&utm_content=pos1&ref=pos1
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