NSW home buyers could soon benefit from stronger protections against dodgy developers, a housing watchdog has told parliament.
The NSW Building Commissioner has flagged it’s possible house buyers could get stronger consumer protection.
David Chandler told a budget estimates hearing it’s possible house buyers could be offered a 10-year warranty on their purchase in the future.
The state government is already planning to introduce a 10-year guarantee against major defects in apartments buildings.
But such a scheme could theoretically be introduced for stand-alone houses as well, Mr Chandler said.
“If it was possible to produce a 10-year warranty product which was available on day one for each class 2 building, it may not be a stretch to think that might be possible for class 1, instead of this awful pain where it has to happen well down the track,” he said.
Class 1 buildings are stand-alone houses and class 2 apartment buildings.
Mr Chandler also said it was also possible class 1 developers could be included in a new rating system being rolled out, designed to reward serious businesses and shame those that cut corners.
The rating system has yet to roll out publicly and has so far been aimed toward apartment buildings.
“It was always the intent of the legislation around class 2 buildings to not boil the ocean in one go, but to have a look and see what worked, what didn’t, what could we improve,” he said.
“There are constant changes to what we stood up already occurring, so I think everybody has got to stand back and look at that and decide ‘where to’ from here.
“But I think it is showing we can get good outcomes by the sorts of tools we‘ve seen introduced in class 2.”
Asked directly if stand-alone building developers could sign up for the rating system too, he said: “It could have an application, yeah.”
Mr Chandler was asked by Labor MP Courtney Houssos if he thought it was fair apartment buyers were afforded stronger protections than house buyers.
“We’re working through a series of harms that perhaps haven’t had the light shone on them,” he replied.
“So I think this is going to be a very useful time to take out of it what could benefit everyone.”
The rating system, iCIRT, is so far working on a voluntary basis and 30 developers have signed up.
When that number hits 50, the service will be ready to launch publicly, he said.
Mr Chandler claimed the rating system could expose shoddy developers in time for consumers to make an informed choice.
“These (development) companies that have gone broke … would have had indicators at least two or three years before they went broke, that they were basket cases,” he said.
Source: News AU
