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Hi,
Our Strata has paid all special levy required to replace all the windows in our building – 8 floors with 32 total units. The special levy fund has been sitting for over a year now but the preferred window contractor has not been engaged yet.
A week ago the chairperson of the committee wrote to all owners that ” A registered Engineering Design Practitioner is required to carry out an assessment of the windows proposed by the window contractor and document that the windows comply with all statutory requirements as per the recent amendments in the Design Practitioners Act NSW, before the contract can be signed and work commence”.
The readings I did on the DP Act left me confused. I’m not sure if the DP Act applies to the window replacement project in our building? The replacement is like for like except for the material ( old aluminum frame to new uPVC frame, ordinary glass pane to double glazed for noise attenuation).
And if it applies, surely the onus is on the window contractor to comply with the DP Act?
Any advice is appreciated.
Thanks for the response in advance.
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I think you mean the NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020, no? Also, the Design and Building Practitioners Regulation affects you. Both depend on classes of buildings defined in the Building Code of Australia and/or the National Construction code. There are special requirements for windows – see s.118 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 and paragraphs 30-31 of the regulation made under that Act and also the National Construction Code.
We’re in a similar situation. I’ll have a look at all the above and may then be able to advise. I can’t say your Chair is wrong but if s/he is correct then a lot of other strata plans aren’t complying with it all!
I’ve had a look at the legals and must say that your Chair has a point. The NSW government is going to all this trouble because serious problems have surfaced in so many home unit buildings. It’s conceivable that the type of window proposed for your building is unsuitable or comes from a factory with a bad reputation. It’s also conceivable that you contract with a builder who takes short cuts. So the law intervenes to reduce the risk of anything going wrong.
However, our builder tells me that we’re replacing like with like and we don’t need the checks that your Chair suggests.
I’m still asking around, so watch this space. And keep prodding your strata committee for some action.