Drive to entice insurers back to high-rise buildings
Buyers of off-the-plan high-rise apartments in NSW might soon be able to claim on insurance for any defects arising within the first 10 years in a massive game-changer for the…
Chandler
Holding out for a strata superhero (or heroine)
A couple of weeks ago we highlighted NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s heroic efforts to boost confidence in the construction of apartment buildings. But there’s another aspect of confidence in…
Would you advise a friend not to buy off the plan?
There was a survey of 500 apartment blocks conducted earlier this year by NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler’s team. It found that more than one-third of new buildings had serious…
Podcast: Anti-anti-vaxxers and 20,000 listens
Forgive us for patting ourselves on the back this week but, having surpassed 20,000 downloads and listens to the podcast, I reckon we’ve earned a little self-indulgence. Suffice it…
Podcast: Pets to lets – 200 columns and counting
How has apartment living in Australia changed in the past four years? The answer is a lot, but still too little. This week, we celebrate our 200th column in the…
Block ban lifted as 20-year guarantee is signed
Developers and real estate agents are free to market and sell apartments in the controversial Skyview apartment block in Castle Hill, with NSW Building Commission lifting the Prohibition Order on…
New date set for Strata Matters conference
There I was, sharpening up my one-liners, trying to remember who I’d insulted in Fair Trading and dusting off my kilt for next week’s Strata Matters conference, when someone switched…
Commissioner to expose defect-dodging owners
Owners who deliberately hide building defects could be the next targets of Building Commissioner David Chandler, with defective buildings and their owners corporations potentially being named and shamed, just as…
Off-the-plan defects targetted by new law
NSW apartment buyers can have greater confidence in their off-the-plan purchases under new laws that came into effect last week (July 1), claims the state government. New laws mean that…
Riding shotgun with our building commish
A couple of weeks ago, Sydney Morning Herald and Domain contributor Sue Williams accepted an invitation to see Building Commissioner David Chandler in action on a development site. How do…
Podcast: What a great year … for pets and renters
This week’s podcast may be the first of 2021 but 2020 doesn’t get away that easily. Last year will be remembered in global politics as the year of Brexit, Trump,…
Commissioner’s lifeline on new-build defects
Owners corporations in relatively new buildings deciding whether to fix building defects themselves or take recalcitrant developers to court – at huge expense and with no guarantee of success –…