In a recent case, Ippolito v Cesco [2020] NSWSC 561 (“Cesco”), the Supreme Court shed further light on this question. Essentially, it confirms previous Supreme Court decisions, especially The Owners – Strata Plan No 76674 v Di Blasio Constructions Pty Ltd [2014] NSWSC 1067 (“Di Blasio”) and The Owners Strata Plan 73162 -v-Dyldam Developments Pty Limited [2014] NSWSC 1789 (“Dyldam”).
When faced with defective residential building works and a builder unable to satisfy a claim, focus will obviously shift to home owner warranty insurance. However, having been intended as a last resort measure, this is subject to some significant limitations:
Regulatory Reform
On 1 September 2020 the Residential Apartments Act commences. These are the main regulatory limbs through which the NSW Government, in conjunction with the existing Home Building Act, hope to create a more consumer friendly construction industry, and thus avoid high rise defect disasters such as Opal Towers and Mascot Towers.
Reform Finally
The strata sector has for a number of years now lived with:
Reform Finally
After years of rising concern about declining standards of residential property construction and narrowing of options available to strata owners corporations and lot owners in defective buildings, the NSW Government has passed reform legislation, the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (“Act”). This will likely be game changing for owners corporations and lot owners in defective buildings.
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:
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).
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.
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’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.
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