Cracks, leaks, and cladding – there are hidden dangers in Australia’s new apartments, and it’s costing owners thousands.
Up to 60 per cent of new apartments in Australia are riddled with construction flaws including cracked foundations, water leaks, balcony defects and flammable cladding.
“People are saving up to buy a one-bedroom apartment because that’s all they can afford, and now they’re copping this,” the group’s director, Samantha Reece, said.Experts say in some cases owners cannot afford the special levies or urgent maintenance costs and are forced to sell for a fraction of their purchase price, while others bought their apartment unaware of an impending levy. Many defects are uncovered when people get combustible cladding removed.
Dwyer said owners had “innocently” purchased homes in compliant buildings with a certificate of occupancy, only to discover their new place was riddled with construction flaws or the walls were covered with flammable cladding. Others were still waiting to have the cladding removed. When Ally Nally bought a one-bedroom apartment in Melbourne’s east, she thought she’d found her forever home. But soon after moving in the condensation in her apartment became so bad that it left damp patches on the windowsill and the carpet was drenched each morning.
Nally’s building’s owners’ corporation has told her and other apartment owners in the complex that they must fork out thousands of dollars each to fix about $3 million worth of defects in the 187-unit complex in Mitcham, built by L.U. Simon Builders more than a decade ago. Australian Apartment Advocacy’s Samantha Reece and the Insurance Council of Australia have been pushing for new controls, such as forcing insurance companies to sign off on building quality. “If it’s not good enough, then they don’t get the insurance,” Reece said.
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