New laws have come into effect to give homeowners better protection against purchasing defective residential apartment buildings.
Minister for Better Regulation, Kevin Anderson said the Residential Apartment Buildings Act 2020 would help prevent buildings with serious defects going on the market, and give clear recourse in the event of a defect.
“The days of shonky certifiers and dodgy developers ripping off unknowing apartment buyers are numbered,” Mr Anderson said.
“They are officially on notice – we can now stop you pushing defective buildings onto consumers,” he said.
Mr Anderson said the Office of the NSW Building Commissioner now had the power to stop defective apartment blocks from being built and sold.
He said changes to the law included a compulsory six-month notification that a developer would be applying for an occupation certificate; powers to withhold an occupation certificate where the building was not up to scratch; the ability to order rectification of any serious defect and recover costs associated with that rectification; and on-the-spot inspections of buildings up to six years old, and in extreme circumstances up to 10 years old.
The Commissioner, David Chandler said the new laws sent a clear signal to the construction sector that sub-standard projects would not be tolerated.
“Our sights are set on the small percentage of industry players who aren’t doing the right thing,” Mr Chandler said.
“Whether you are a builder cutting corners, or a certifier passing work that isn’t good enough – expect action from our new team of inspectors,” he said.
