The NSW Greens have called for an end to private building certification in an effort to protect building owners and raise standards in the construction industry.
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Speaking at the trouble plagued Landmark apartment block in Charlestown – dubbed Newcastle’s Opal Tower – Greens planning spokesman David Shoebridge said the current system had failed thousands of homeowners across the state since its introduction in 1998.
“We know case after case where the certifier doesn’t even attend the property. They are often signing off on the building works on reports given to them by the different trades, sometimes a photograph. There are certifiers sitting in Brisbane signing off on properties in NSW,” Mr Shoebridge said.
“We should have council employing the certifiers with high ethical and professional standards.”
Aidan Ellis faces a bill of $360,000 to repair defects, including substandard materials and a lack of waterproofing and insulation in his Landmark apartment.
His is one of a number of apartments where defects were identified shortly after the Landmark building was completed in 2008.
The building’s developer/builder Peter Durbin wound up his two companies behind the project after the Landmark’s 59 unit owners took legal action.
“We have virtually all lost a full value, I don’t think these units are really saleable now because they are privately certified,” Mr Ellis said.
“The certifier didn’t even came to the building while it was being built and then Lake Macquarie Council rubber stamps what the certifier gives them and away they go to get an occupation certificate.”
In May, 2018 Lake Macquarie MP Jodie Harrison slammed the government over unit buyer protections in a speech to NSW Parliament citing the Landmark woes.
A Landmark owner with a standard three bedroom, two bathroom, two car space unit has so far paid more than $17,000 in repair work costs for the building defect fund since 2017, in addition to regular quarterly fees to maintain the building and services. All 59 unit owners must pay the special levies, regardless of whether their units are affected by the common property defects.
Mr Shoebridge said the the costs associated with reintroducing public certification would be recouped in higher building standards and improved safety.
“Doing this properly would have cost marginally more but I can tell you it would have saved home owners thousand and thousands of dollars and millions across the state by not having to fix the defects,” he said.
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