This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
WITH both parties making housing affordability policy commitments in the run up to Saturday’s federal election, Strata Community Association fears the impacts from a lack of commitment to quality.
Property peak body Strata Community Association (SCA) has welcomed recent promises to address Australia’s housing affordability crisis, with the Morrison government unveiling its controversial policy to allow Australians to access up to $50,000 of their super to enter the property market and Labor proposing a $329 million initiative to help Australians on low and middle incomes do the same.
However SCA are warning that the current state of the strata industry is rife with unsafe and expensive defects.
“We need to eradicate the high prevalence of building defects in strata complexes,” said Chris Duggan, national president of SCA.
According to SCA, 20% of Australians currently live in strata dwellings, with the total value of these residences at $1.3 trillion and the industry adding $6.7 billion to the economy each year.
At least one building defects is present in 85% of residential multi-owned properties across the country, with an average of 14 defects per building, according to research from Deakin University.
“The tragedy of the Grenfell Towers fire, which will mark its grim 5 year anniversary in June this year and the financial ruin experienced by so many in the Mascot and Opal Towers buildings are a stark reminder that we must do better with buildings,” added Duggan.
While a report from the Centre for International Economics revealed that building defects from regulatory non-compliance is currently costing consumers $2.5 billion per annum, with more than half of that – $1.3 billion – attributed to apartment buildings.
“The last thing we need is a first home buyer going out and buying into another Opal or Mascot Towers, or being hit with a huge bill to pull down dangerous and flammable cladding,” said Duggan.
Further, the report found that by implementing Building Confidence Report (BCR) recommendations, the cost derived from building defects could be cut by around $1.3 billion each year and provide time savings with a value of circa $375 million.
“We know the path forward, but we need leadership and cooperation between governments to get there, not just in one state or territory, but across the whole of Australia,” said Duggan.
SCA is continuing to call for all major parties to commit to the implementation of the model guidance from the BCR.
Additionally, SCA is looking for major parties to commit to supporting the introduction of customer facing tools to ensure greater transparency and to the expansion of building warranty schemes to include buildings greater than three stories in all jurisdictions, including introducing decennial liability insurance.
“We will continue these calls on behalf of the 5 million people who live in strata to whoever forms the next government, as well as to relevant state bodies,” concluded Duggan.
