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Hi flatchat,
we are a small 5 yo building. There was a water ingress issue in one of the units which was raised with the builder which he attempted to quick fix.OC involved an engineer who found that flashing was not done properly by removing bricks. He demanded that bricks are laid properly which the builder did but the builder refused to redo balcony floor tiles saying it did not make sense.
OC got another engineer to do a report to confirm if the problem was fixed but that engineer’s report came with much more defects to fix as they did more flood testing. They also suggested to check the whole building for defects.
Strata manager suggests to take legal action against the builder before the major defects warranty period 6 years expires.
My concern is that once they check the whole building they find too much problems and that will be on file devaluating all the unit prices.
What are the chances of getting it fixed under major defects and whether checking the rest of the building is a good idea (where we have no issues so far).
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My concern is that once they check the whole building they find too much problems and that will be on file devaluating all the unit prices.
The worst thing you can do is identify problems then not get them fixed as both of these will be on record somewhere. Savvy purchasers will look at records of work done and feel more reassured than if they see a building that needs work but where nothing has been repaired.
I would follow the strata manager’s advice to get the building properly surveyed then get your claim in while you can. By the way, waterproofing is considered a major defect. If the builder drags their heels, take it to Fair Trading as they are much more active in this area than they used to be.
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By the way, under proposals currently being promoted by Fair Trading, if you haven’t forced the builder to fix the defects in your block, Fair Trading will be able to take you to NCAT to get orders compelling you to fix them, possibly at your owners’ expense.
That law could come in just when your warranties are running out, so you maybe better get cracking.
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Having gone through many leaks and poor workmanship of a building that looked wonderful, this is, until we went past the paintwork, I strongly suggest that you get a good Building Consultant to check your building before it is too late to make a claim through OFT against the builder. The money you spend on the Building Consultant may be worth every cent spent.