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[AJP]

Our 3 storey / 11 unit apartment block is three and a half years old.

When the building was completed it was fully certified by Council for Fire Safety Certification. A couple of months ago the building had its annual inspection and we received a huge list of faults. Most of these are installation problems, rather than maintenance. They include:

gaps between fire doors and door frames,
fire doors installed back to front,
exit lights not on own circuits and wrong decals installed,
door frames not back-filled with cement,
unreliable smoke alarms installed,
no fire dampeners on site,
etc.

To rectify the faults will cost $thousands. Our SM has been trying, unsuccessfully, to speak with the council fire safety inspector for two months. Meanwhile, we have taken no action regarding the report.

1. Where does the OC stand, when a council fire expert passed the building as fire safety compliant and another inspector is now saying it isn’t?

2. Can the builder be held liable for the installation problems when it is outside the 2 year warranty period?

3. Is the council liable for passing a building when they apparently shouldn’t have?

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