Building Defects

Yet Another Building Fire Likely a Result of Combustible Cladding - United Arab Emirates High-Rise Tower

On Tuesday, 5 May 2020, residents had to flee the 48-storey Abbco Tower in Sharjah as a result of the building catching fire, with flames shooting up the sides of the building.  Reports say that the fire caused flaming debris to spray neighbouring parking lots and left metal siding littered on surrounding streets.  Luckily, there were no fatalities.  Although it has not yet officially been confirmed, building and safety experts believe that the reason for the fire was aluminium composite panel cladding (ACP).

10 Year Retrospective Right

The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (“DBPA”) makes game changing provisions and will have a significant impact on the building industry and on strata schemes.

The DBPA commences in stages:

Combustible Cladding, Class Actions & Australian Consumer Law

Strata owners facing the cost of council orders requiring the replacement of combustible cladding are looking for potential solutions against the manufacturers under the Australian Consumer Law.

Holes in the new Building Certification Regime

The Office of Fair Trading sought submissions on the proposed Building and Development Certifiers Regulation 2019. The following is Bannermans submission, pointing out two key areas that need to be addressed.

NSW First Cladding Decision

NSW’s First Cladding Decision

The recent Tribunal decision in SP92888 v Taylor Construction Group and Frasers Putney [2019] NSWCAT has held that combustible external cladding installed on residential buildings  is a major defect for the purposes of statutory warranties under the Home Building Act 1989 (the HBA) and will have significant ramifications on owners of residential buildings wishing to explore cladding as a defect.

Letter to the Minister Regarding Building Defects in Leasehold Strata Title Properties

A letter from Bannermans Laywers to the Minister regarding Building Defects in Leasehold Strata Title Properties

Fire Risk Cladding - Urgent Government Action Required to the City of Sydney

The list of Sydney properties on the combustible cladding register has been made public and the results are shocking. 341 properties are on the register in Sydney alone and many of these are high profile, residential, retail and public buildings. Even more shocking is that no mandatory assessment regime has been imposed and that fire safety orders have been made in only 7 cases.

Building Defects Overview

Bannermans Lawyers’ construction team can provide tailored, commercial, effective legal advice to you in the management of building defect matters.

Protecting Your Asset

Often your home or investment property is one of your most important assets. Accordingly, you should consider consulting a legal practitioner who specialises in building and construction law for advice when determining the best course of action to take when:

Don't Let Your Cladding Statutory Warranties Expire: FAQ's

The NSW Cladding Taskforce has already audited 185,000 buildings across NSW and has issued 33,000 safety letters to building owners and residents recommending certain actions. Out of 2,300 buildings inspected thus far, the Taskforce has identified 425 as high risk.

Esky Apartments, Definition of Flammable Cladding & Lacrosse Fire Legislation

Following the Lacrosse Fire in Melbourne and the tragedy of the Grenfell fire in London, authorities in NSW have now taken action to start addressing the risks arising from flammable cladding.