Bannermans Fire Safety Guidelines – Step 4

Posted 20 May 2024

Category: Aluminium Cladding, eBooks

As the owners corporation would be aware, it has a mandatory obligation to repair and maintain the common property, including the rectification of any building defects.

However another party may be held accountable to rectify or pay the loss of the owners corporation, such as builders, developers, certifiers, home owners warranty insurers, contractors, subcontractors, designers or engineers.

Although there are other potential remedies, such as a product liability claims, the statutory warranty rights against the builder, developer or home warranty insurer are the most valuable legal rights for recovery of the costs associated with non-compliant cladding.

There are a number of key time-frames relevant to residential development building defects, which can be summarised as:

• 45 days – to appeal the decision of a home warranty insurer;

• 6 months – to notify a home warranty insurer, builder or developer of facts and circumstances;

• 12 months – for making claims regarding non-completion or cessation of work by the builder or developer;

• 2 years – for making last resort insurance claims from a home warranty insurer and for commencement of proceedings against builders, developers or sub-contractors for breach of statutory warranties for any defects;

• 3 years – to make a product liability claim from manufacturers or importers;

• 6 years – for making last resort insurance claims from a home warranty insurer and for commencement of proceedings against builders, developers or sub-contractors for breach of statutory warranties for major defects.

This period is also relevant for commencing proceedings against the builder, developer, certifier, architect, designers, consultants, sub-contractors and others for negligence or for misleading and deceptive conduct; and

• 7 years – for building contracts entered into before 1 February 2012, commencement of proceedings against builders, developers or sub-contractors for breach of statutory warranties for any defects.

The above list of time-frames is not exhaustive and is complicated by various references and exceptions found in the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW), Home Building Regulation 2014 (NSW), Limitations Act 1969 (NSW), Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW), Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) and Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth).

This is an extract from our Bannermans Aluminium Cladding Fire Safety Guidelines.

To access more guidelines on Aluminium Cladding fill in the below form to download our Bannermans Aluminium Cladding Fire Safety Guidelines for free.