THIS Report in the SMH sounds good with the new NSW Building Commissioner, David Chandler having the power from 1 September 2020 to enter and inspect building sites, to prevent the issue of ‘occupation certificates’, and order work to be stopped!
However distraught home buyers/owners (*Constituents) have more to say about the system being stacked against them!!
A summary of their comments …
-the building commissioner should look at the ongoing issue of insurers fighting claims with the aim of wearing down claimants; the ongoing legal costs were going to exceed any forecast insurance payout; the payout has barely covered 50% of the real costs of remediation.
-deregulation and self regulation simply doesn’t work; Regulations exist for a reason
-the only real fix is to have truly independent supervising professional inspectors signing off at every stage of construction
-the introduction of self-certification by builders with final sign off by someone paid by the builder has always been dodgy.
-the use of substandard materials, bad building practices, mistakes and shortcuts have long been concealed by the time of final certification
-the buying off the plan system needs to be banned because the developers/builders can have millions in their pockets before they pick up a shovel and there is a wish to spend as little as possible of it on actual construction.
-will the shonky developers, builders and certifiers be named? Future buyers need to know whose work to avoid
-the old Home Owner Warranty scheme should be applied to apartments; for the builder/developer to have enough money set aside for 5 years to cover defects
-nowadays they make huge profits shuffled to shelf companies and they are liable for nothing
-when a builder/developer goes broke they lose everything except their money
-is the ‘tough talk’ a NSW INC PR campaign to allow the industry to continue to build sub-par work at high profits (a 2-bed apartment costs $200,000 to build)
-will the list of dodgy developers/builders/certifiers be released publicly? Will on-going transparency reports be publicly made available?
-councils should be the only organisation to nominate certifiers
-what will happen when developers withdraw their political donations?
-could this NSW INC exercise be about restoring public interest in buying apartments?
-looks like it is about protecting the construction industry and investors rather than protecting home buyers from defective development
-when will criminal charges and gaol terms be imposed?
-why isn’t the government taken to task for privatising certification?
-now we have red tape + building defects + bankrupted home owners
READ MORE THEN SHARE!
COMMUNITY ACTION ALLIANCE FOR NSW (CAAN): HOUSING INEQUALITY WITH AUSSIES LOCKED OUT! 