NSW Building watchdog hit hard by pushback
There is growing suggestion the all-powerful NSW Building Commission is causing delays in apartment completions along with rising costs for buyers.
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There is emerging pushback suggesting the all-powerful NSW Building Commission is causing delays in apartment completions along with rising costs for buyers.
But in the pursuit of higher construction standards, there ought be no leeway for developers building faulty apartments.
The establishment of the building watchdog stems from the dramatic cracking at the Opal Tower, Sydney Olympic Park high-rise on Christmas Eve in 2018, which was followed by the Mascot Towers subsidence in 2019.
The recent collapse of the Toplace empire is going to cause grief for years. And there are still numerous complexes needing compliant fire safety cladding.
In a few short years, the Building Commission boss David Chandler has introduced accountability to the delivery of new housing. Now with a department of 400 there will be proactive inspections followed by enforcement orders.
Already the public register of in-force building work rectification orders lists about 80 sites, including the Palomar, Bellevue Hill project which was highlighted last weekend in the news with fire safety and waterproofing issues.
“What an unfortunate situation for these new owners and now sellers,” Chandler subsequently noted on his very active LinkedIn presence.
“I have personally inspected the Palomar building. There were many issues. Both the builder and certifier have been referred for investigation,” Chandler said.
Buyers in NSW now have choices to help avoid purchasing from developers who do not have a trustworthy rating being provided in iCIRT ratings from Equifax. And developers can also offer the additional protection of 10 year latent defects insurance.
Recent Equifax research suggests buyers have a willingness to pay more for the assurance that their projects are in reliable hands. Even conscientious legacy builders make mistakes but there is now a better mechanism to honour their ongoing obligations.
The negativity from a few towards Chandler is to be expected in an industry where many got away with profiting from cutting corners in their construction.
The latest criticism came on a video rant last weekend from Tom Panos, a real estate influencer.
“You have this building commissioner in NSW who on the one hand looked like we were onto something good – a guy to make sure we got rid of these dodgy buildings.
“But what he has done has slowed down the whole process,” Panos said.
Sadly there has been no slowing in the losses being incurred by Opal Tower vendors. The recent $1.11m sale of a 22nd-floor, three-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment was $500,000 less than its 2014 off the plan purchase, ranking as the biggest drop yet in the infamous building.
Meanwhile the Opal Tower builder, Icon Co, was ordered last month to carry out remediation of potentially serious defects at its newer sites, Avantra at Mascot and The Uptown at Roseville.
Originally published as NSW Building watchdog hit hard by pushback
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