Appeal Panel clarifies scope and operation of NCAT’s jurisdiction to award damages to lot owners. In Shum v The Owners Strata Plan No. 30621 [2017] NSWCATCD 68, a lot owner was awarded in excess of $55,000 damages for breach of the Owners Committee’s duty to repair and maintain common property. The 30 August 2017 decision […]
NSW passes the Building Products (Safety) Act 2017. NSW wasted no time in acting on the Senate’s recent recommendations to ban inflammable cladding as a building product. On 30 November the Building Products (Safety) Act 2017 received assent. The Act aims to prevent the installation of unsafe building products in the future and empowers the […]
A warning to unlicensed contractors and uninsured builders. I often come across unlicensed and uninsured ‘contractors’ despite the fact that the risks of contracting without either licence or insurance can be significant. A builder who contracts to carry out residential building work over $20,000 without insurance may encounter difficulties in obtaining payment. Moreover, financial penalties can […]
Building Occupation Certificate problems. The point of certification appears unclear after the NSW Court of Appeal’s landmark decision in Ku-ring-gai Council v Chan [2017] NSWCA 226. What is clear is that a certifier, including a council, does not owe a duty of care to subsequent purchasers of property in relation to the manner in which it […]
Strata common property maintenance obligations s106. It’s been a big month for strata, with two Court of Appeal decisions extending potential claims available to lot owners. On 30 August 2017, in Shum v the Owners Corporation SP30621 [2017] NSWCATCD 68 Member Grew awarded a lot owner damages for breach of the OC’s duty to maintain and […]
Flammable Cladding Sydney. The widespread use of flammable cladding on high rises has been making headlines in Australia and indeed was subject to a recent investigation on the ABC’s Four Corners. The use of this potentially life threatening building material has now been scrutinised by a Senate Committee which released its findings on 6 September. ACP or Aluminium Composite […]
Community title common property disputes legal assistance. On 12 October 2016, the High Court of Australia delivered a unanimous judgement in Ainsworth v Albrecht [2016] HCA 40, bringing to an end a long running and extremely expensive dispute between lot owners in a community title scheme. The facts Mr Albrecht, a lot owner in a […]
