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Shoddy Sydney
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Shoddy Sydney

Defects cost Sydney’s homeowners and taxpayers $700m annually. How did we get here and what is being done about it?

5 stories
Stuart Mclean and his waterlogged flat.

Stuart didn’t think much of a wet patch in his lounge room. Then he came home to a flooded flat

Defective buildings across Sydney are costing home owners and taxpayers $700 million a year. This is what is at stake as development accelerates.

  • by Anthony Segaert
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‘This is out of control’: The 750 tradies who bought fake qualifications from criminals

Building defects cost Sydney home owners and taxpayers $700 million a year. Some of the problem begins with who is engaged to do the work.

  • by Harriet Alexander and Max Maddison
Maria and John Tsolakis bought an apartment in 2021 but it has had multiple defects which have resulted in multiple water leaks and mould issues in their Ettalong Bay townhouse.

Maria thought her townhouse was ‘perfect’. Then her bedroom ceiling began to drip

Defects are being kept out of strata reports and the building commission is removing defects notices from public view - all of which creates a trap for prospective buyers such as the Tsolakis family.

  • by Anthony Segaert
Building defects across Sydney.

Search for buildings with defect notices across Sydney

Hundreds of orders for developers to fix defective homes in Sydney have been issued over the past four years. This is where they are.

Amanda Owen at her home in Baulkham Hills last year.

The building commissioner doesn’t think Sydney has defects crisis. Tell that to Amanda

What does NSW need to do to solve its defects crisis? It starts by acknowledging there’s a problem – then taking these seven steps.

  • by Max Maddison and Anthony Segaert

Original URL: https://www.watoday.com.au/national/nsw/shoddy-sydney-20250404-p5lp5y.html