The demands on construction in NSW have placed pressure on developers, builders and their sub-contractors. This has attracted ever-increasing regulatory intervention powers, which can have consequences for everyone involved.

Knowing where you stand is fundamental in dealing with clients. The cornerstone is the statutory warranties implied under the Home Building Act 1989 in all contracts to do residential building work. 
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Responding to claims for defects can be a costly and time-consuming exercise. The emotion involved in building homes can make claims appear frivolous or vexatious, making them difficult to respond to. 

We provide a prompt, impartial and discrete service based on up-to-date technical building and regulation knowledge.

We can liaise with your clients or owners to gather information on the claimed items to determine if they are considered defects and remain within the relevant statutory warranty periods. Our experience enables us to advise of your responsibilities, so you know where you stand moving forward.

We have an intimate understanding of the Occupation Certificate Audits on Class 2 residential apartment buildings carried out by the NSW Building regulator.

End-of-warranty defect reports are a regular occurrence for owners' committees to obtain expert advice on their building. The authors of these reports are required to report on anything apparent at the time of their inspection. These can capture defects, appliance and fixture issues and maintenance-related issues.

We can quickly and cost-effectively review these reports, summarise the claimed defects, and advise if they are considered defects and remain within the relevant statutory warranty periods. We can also advise if there are serious defects under the definition of the Residential Apartment Buildings (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act 2020.

If an inspection is required, we can arrange an inspection of the property with the strata manager, with or without your presence and report back the findings.

Changes to work can occur after completing a project. These changes may result in resultant damage from a defect leaving the occupants to assume the issue is related to the original work. To avoid the issue escalating, we use our experience, integrity and impartiality and arrange an inspection and provide a report on the precise cause so you can make a well-informed business decision moving ahead.

The Design and Building Practitioners legislation provides builders and developers with a clear line of sight to where regulated designs may have failed. Applying technical knowledge and experience, we can review project documentation, conduct an inspection if required and advise if the cause of failure is design or workmanship-related.