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For obvious reasons, our podcast this week is about the Mascot Tower crisis. We recorded the podcast before we were aware of the story in today’s Financial Review revealing that the developer and builder of the property next door, as well as the local council, were already facing legal action because of disturbance caused by the construction of another …
https://www.flatchat.com.au/podcast-mascot-tower-crisis-brings-defects-closer-to-home/The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
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Butterfly theory is rubbish.
Same as the frog on the stove.
But aside from that, it’s funny how the Government reduced the structual defects warranty claim period to 6 years not long after they gave us private certifiers.
Did they have some early indicators?I bought off the plan in 2000. Within 2 years we had to raise a special levy to complete works due to not meeting Australian building code standards. Builder said not his problem. Though we gained access to paperwork from council certifying the complex for habitation there was no name on the paperwork. Just council stamp. Work needed to be completed due to the insistence of our insurer. Issues in individual units too. Builder closed down – but opened up another business.
Cars with faulty airbags must be fixed at no cost to owners – dangerous. And retailers who sell uncertified electrical appliances/products face heavy penalties. But apartments/strata…you’re on your own.
Too much deflection of responsibility. We’ve just been through this with a property bought off plan. A property purchase is, in most cases, the most expensive purchase we will ever make. Remove private certifiers (the certifier on our building was a mate of the developer.) Council appointed certifiers only and regular inspections of works in progress by Council approved engineers. The issue is, major structural defects are not visible if too much time is left between construction stages.
As regards the butterfly theory, perhaps this explanation of the phenomenon will help. A soldier in the German Army stands in a trench in 1918. A bullet zips over his head, just missing him. Now, if the machine that loaded the gunpowder into the cartridge that fired that bullet had loaded two grains less gunpowder, the bullet would have travelled at a sightly lower trajectory and gone through that soldier’s head, killing him. The soldier was a certain Corporal A. Hitler, who survived the war and went on to be rather famous.
The point of the story is that it is possible, in some circumstances, for very minor actions to have major ramifications down the track.
The frog in the kettle? See it every day.
Great column, Jimmy T!
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