Invest
Building defects lead to calls for purchaser protection
With four recently built Sydney buildings now ghost towns due to dangerous defects, the Strata Community Association (NSW) has called for mass reforms to help property owners recover from potential losses.
Building defects lead to calls for purchaser protection
With four recently built Sydney buildings now ghost towns due to dangerous defects, the Strata Community Association (NSW) has called for mass reforms to help property owners recover from potential losses.
The association outlined that it has called for legislation that would closely reflect that put in place after Victoria’s cladding crisis, where $600 million was designated by the state government for the removal of highly flammable cladding from newly built buildings.
In calling for mass funding to fix damages in a number of recently built NSW buildings, the state’s Strata Community Association president, Chris Duggan, said the government needs to help all investors and not just residents in bigger cases.
“The NSW government moved quickly to support the residents of Mascot Towers, but we all know now that this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he stated, considering that iceberg to be impacting on property owner confidence.
Impact on investors
According to Mr Duggan, the federal government should be working with state legislators on the issue, as the problems facing investors in NSW could be replicated Australia-wide.
While the NSW government moved quickly on Mascot Towers, it is now obvious that the building and construction integrity problem requires a whole of government strategic response that is properly funded, the Strata Community Association outlined.
He noted that some Mascot Towers residents had been offered $10,000 to purchase their million-dollar apartments, adding that “no resident in NSW should have to suffer that sort of disgraceful proposition”.
Call to action
Working on behalf of 2 million members, the Strata Community Association said it has called for government intervention to stop such issues from continuing.
Mr Duggan highlighted that NSW still has “hundreds of kilometres of poor-quality electrical cabling that poses a fire risk” that can’t be tracked down.
He also said that the government is still allowing poor quality Chinese-made glass panels to come into this country that can explode under stress.
As a result, Mr Duggan said insurance premiums are on the rise.
He said that this isn’t the only impact that has arisen out of the new building drama, with the private certifiers issue off the back of flammable cladding having brought “the construction industry to its knees”.
RELATED ARTICLES
About the author
About the author
Property
Twice the demand: the case study behind Melbourne’s first‑home buyer surge
Melbourne has quietly engineered one of Australia’s most consequential housing turnarounds, with first‑home buyer demand running at roughly double the national pace and four of the top five buyer ...Read more
Property
First‑home buyers now anchor Australia’s mortgage growth — but the risk maths is changing
Great Southern Bank’s revelation that nearly one in three of its new mortgages went to first‑home buyers is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader market realignment powered by government ...Read more
Property
Home guarantee scheme shake-up challenges Australia’s housing market players
From 1 October 2025, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) materially widens what first-home buyers can purchase and where. By sharply lifting price caps and relaxing eligibility settings, the ...Read more
Property
GSB’s first‑home buyer play: turning policy tailwinds into market share
Great Southern Bank’s latest results show that nearly one in three of its new mortgages now go to first‑home buyers—evidence of a fast‑moving market reshaped by government guarantees, easing rates and ...Read more
Property
Why investors are fleeing and renters are scrambling in Australia's housing maze
Australia’s rental market is tightening even as individual landlords sell down. New data points to a multi‑year investor retreat tied to higher holding costs and regulatory uncertainty, while prices ...Read more
Property
Australia's 5% deposit guarantee: Unlocking gains while balancing risks in the market share race
Can a bigger government guarantee fix housing access without fuelling prices? Australia is about to find out. The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit pathway aims to help 70,000 buyers, remove ...Read more
Property
Australia's bold move the 5% deposit scheme shaking up the housing market
Can a government guarantee replace lenders mortgage insurance without inflating prices or risk? Canberra’s accelerated 5% deposit scheme is a bold demand-side nudge in a supply‑constrained marketRead more
Property
When rates drop but stress sticks: exploring Australia's mortgage arrears dilemma
Headline numbers suggest arrears ease as rates come down. The reality in Australia is messier: broad measures dipped into mid‑2025, yet severe delinquencies and non‑bank portfolios remain under ...Read more
Property
Twice the demand: the case study behind Melbourne’s first‑home buyer surge
Melbourne has quietly engineered one of Australia’s most consequential housing turnarounds, with first‑home buyer demand running at roughly double the national pace and four of the top five buyer ...Read more
Property
First‑home buyers now anchor Australia’s mortgage growth — but the risk maths is changing
Great Southern Bank’s revelation that nearly one in three of its new mortgages went to first‑home buyers is not an outlier. It is the leading edge of a broader market realignment powered by government ...Read more
Property
Home guarantee scheme shake-up challenges Australia’s housing market players
From 1 October 2025, the expanded Home Guarantee Scheme (HGS) materially widens what first-home buyers can purchase and where. By sharply lifting price caps and relaxing eligibility settings, the ...Read more
Property
GSB’s first‑home buyer play: turning policy tailwinds into market share
Great Southern Bank’s latest results show that nearly one in three of its new mortgages now go to first‑home buyers—evidence of a fast‑moving market reshaped by government guarantees, easing rates and ...Read more
Property
Why investors are fleeing and renters are scrambling in Australia's housing maze
Australia’s rental market is tightening even as individual landlords sell down. New data points to a multi‑year investor retreat tied to higher holding costs and regulatory uncertainty, while prices ...Read more
Property
Australia's 5% deposit guarantee: Unlocking gains while balancing risks in the market share race
Can a bigger government guarantee fix housing access without fuelling prices? Australia is about to find out. The Albanese government’s expanded 5% deposit pathway aims to help 70,000 buyers, remove ...Read more
Property
Australia's bold move the 5% deposit scheme shaking up the housing market
Can a government guarantee replace lenders mortgage insurance without inflating prices or risk? Canberra’s accelerated 5% deposit scheme is a bold demand-side nudge in a supply‑constrained marketRead more
Property
When rates drop but stress sticks: exploring Australia's mortgage arrears dilemma
Headline numbers suggest arrears ease as rates come down. The reality in Australia is messier: broad measures dipped into mid‑2025, yet severe delinquencies and non‑bank portfolios remain under ...Read more
