Body Corporate in NSW
On 2 June 2020, Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Bill 2020 (NSW) (“the Bill”) was introduced in the NSW parliament.
The Bill resulted from significant and widely covered structural defects that plagued Sydney apartment buildings, specifically Sydney’s Opal and Mascot towers.
On 1 September 2020, the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020 (NSW) (“the Act”) will come into force, granting increased protection to bodies corporate and committees in NSW.
Karen Stiles of the Owners Corporation Network (a non-profit advocacy for owners and bodies corporate) called “real consumer protection” for buyers of off-the-plan apartments. And it couldn’t have come sooner.
We speak with and work with many (too many) Committees and bodies corporate that endure the stress and costs of building defects.
Body Corporate in Victoria
Whilst Victoria may not have had two large towers with significant structural issues, this doesn’t mean that there are issues out there.
Many body corporate in Victoria are still facing building defects, namely issues with cladding, water leaks, and build quality.
Will the Victorian Government undertake their review in this respect?
Combustible Cladding is Currently the Most Significant Building Issue Facing Bodies Corporate in Victoria.
While Victoria may have been spared critical structural issues that afflicted NSW, the number of buildings with dangerous cladding in Victoria is more than double the number in NSW.
Based on public domain information, as of 31 July 2020, around 1070 buildings in Victoria had dangerous cladding, compared with 405 buildings with flammable cladding in NSW.
The cladding issue has been ongoing in Victoria for several years. It is visible and dangerous, affecting hundreds of high-rise residential buildings in Melbourne, and there is no clear pathway or time frame for completing rectification works or resolving the vexed issue of how it should be funded.
The Government has guaranteed funds for only the 15% of buildings deemed to be the highest risk (approx. 160 out of the estimated 1070 buildings) and expects all other buildings with non-compliant cladding to finance the rectification works themselves, presumably by their body corporate raising a levy.
There is no consumer protection, indeed quite the reverse, with some buildings also finding it difficult to obtain re-insurance. The flow-on effect could see the resale of apartments becoming more difficult.
All because due diligence wasn’t carried out by the Building Industry before allowing Aluminium Cladding to be used as a façade on many high-rise buildings!
Owners should not be required to pay for rectification for something that was totally out of their control. The Government needs to hold the Building Industry accountable and examine the procedures that allowed this disaster to happen. They should also find a fair and reasonable method for funding the rectification.
Background
Three fires in high-rise buildings—Lacrosse and Neo in Melbourne and Grenfell Tower in the UK—were found to have been caused by combustible aluminium cladding in a little over four years from late 2014.
The body corporate at Lacrosse in Docklands sued all the entities associated with the design and construction of the building for $24 million. The Builder, L U Simon, was initially found guilty, but his defence of being unaware that the cladding was combustible was accepted, and damages were shared (not equally) between the architect, surveyor, and fire engineer.
L U Simon was also the Builder of the Neo building in the CBD.
The Lacrosse Building is the first building we know of where rectification is complete—and they had the funds to do it!
Timeline of Events
Lacrosse Building Docklands 24th November 2014 no lives lost
https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/sitecollectiondocuments/mbs-report-lacrosse-fire.pdf
Grenville Tower London 14 June 2017 loss of 72 lives
https://www.archpaper.com/2020/03/new-details-grenfell-fire-details/
Neo 200 Melbourne CBD 04 February 2019 no lives lost
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-04/spencer-street-apartment-fire-melbourne/10776018
In each of the fires, Combustible Aluminium Cladding was responsible for the dramatic acceleration of the fire, but was not responsible for starting them.
The Victorian Cladding Taskforce was established on 03 July 2017
The Victorian Building Authority (VBA) was tasked with identifying all commercial and residential buildings with combustible cladding. This was mostly carried out on foot by VBA and Local Council officers.
1069 residential buildings were identified in a VBA Audit as having combustible cladding. This list has never been released.
Some Local Councils were involved in identifying buildings with suspect cladding. They have also been responsible for serving Building Notices and Building Orders for non-compliant cladding on bodies corporate.
The State Government announced it would fund the top 15 buildings deemed to be at greatest risk and made an offer of cladding ‘rectification’ loans that could be paid via one’s council rates to everyone else.
To take up this offer, bodies corporate would first need to pass a Special Resolution. The offer was withdrawn a few months later, probably because no building took it up!
In July 2019, the Cladding Taskforce was replaced by Cladding Safety Victoria (CSV).
The role of CSV has been to work with the OCs of buildings referred to them by the VBA to establish whether they are eligible for government funding and assist them in working through the rectification process to completion.
Currently, 200+ buildings are at various stages, but there is no indication yet if any building has completed the process.
We Live Here – Advocacy Group for Bodies Corporate
If you would like further information about We Live Here, Barbara can be contacted by email at barbara@welivehere.net or visit We Live Here
