GUIDE TO MANAGING BODY CORPORATE BUILDING DEFECTS
In response to recent legislative changes, that were specifically introduced to help bodies corporate identify and rectify building defects, Mahoneys has partnered with Sedgwick (a leading global provider of building services) to develop “A complete guide to managing building defects in Queensland”.
The purpose of the guide is to help bodies corporate (and body corporate managers) take a more proactive approach to protecting the legal rights of owners by identifying and rectifying building defects early. A copy of the free guide can be downloaded here.
The guide covers:
- What is a building defect
- The body corporate’s obligations for defects
- Why it is important to identify defects early
- The importance of a building defect report
- What bodies corporate should do to protect their rights
- How Mahoneys and Sedgwick can help
Mahoneys dedicated body corporate team includes experienced construction lawyers. This gives us the capability to advise bodies corporate on all their building defect needs, including:
- The body corporate’s obligation to identify and rectify defects
- What documents the developer is legally required to hand over
- Obtaining and verifying the construction documents required by the body corporate
- Coordinating building defect reviews
- Taking action against the builder
Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the guide, or need assistance with a body corporate building defect.
Article Contributed by Mahoneys
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I have a question which relates to defects that occur and or are found after the warranty period has expired.
Defects for example, like not enough fall on a lot owners balcony, are these types of defects the Body Corporate responsibility or the lot owners to rectify.
Hi Brian.
The party who is ultimately responsible for a building defect following the expiry of the warranty period will depend upon a number of factors including:
– the location of the defect;
– whether the scheme was built under a building format plan of subdivision or a standard format plan of subdivision – you can determine this by looking at the survey plan for the scheme; and
– the regulation that applies to the scheme (i.e. is the scheme governed by the accommodation module, standard module, etc) – you can determine this by looking at the Community Management Statement for the scheme.
Once you have determined the above, the responsible party (either the body corporate or lot owner) can be identified.
Generally speaking however, for building format plan of subdivisions, incorrect fall has been identified to be a structural issue such that it is usually a body corporate responsibility.
Please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated body corporate team (07 3007 3777), should you have a specific defect you would like advice on.
Thank you Francesca, it is a standard format.
Early reporting is the key!!
It took 4 years at Saltwater Apartments to identify that there was no company, builder, etc to ‘pay’ for faults on the complex.
Now, costs have blown out to nearly half a millions and the owners are liable for the full amount.