New South Wales apartment owners now have the ability to seek damages for past building defects, after the Design & Building Practitioners Bill 2020 took effect in the week ending 12 June.
Karen Stiles, the executive officer of advocacy group Owners Corporation Network, says the legislation is a “great first step” towards re-regulating the industry and re-establishing confidence in new apartments. The legislation requires negligence actions for defects to be instigated within six years of a defect becoming known, and within 10 years of a building’s completion:
[The legislation] overturns the precedent set by a 2014 High Court decision that found a builder had no longer-term responsibility to the occupants of a high-rise apartment building.
