The developer (and building contractor) is the first person to contact when a defect is found in a new scheme. If they are unresponsive, then recourse to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission may be possible. The time to lodge a non-structural defect issue with the QBCC is quite short. Full details are on their website – www.qbcc.qld.gov.au. Once these avenues are exhausted, consumer law may be applicable to the product that was purchased by the builder.
Since 1 January 2011, the following consumer guarantees on products and services apply. Products must be of acceptable quality, that is:
- safe, lasting, with no faults
- look acceptable
- do all the things someone would normally expect them to do
Acceptable quality takes into account what would normally be expected for the type of product and cost. Full details are discussed on www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/consumer-guarantees.
In a recent case of one of our clients, they found that bathroom cabinetry mirrors had gone “blotchy” over time. This was not just in one unit in the complex but found to be the case in many of the units. Unfortunately, the date that the cabinetry was purchased probably just pre-dated the 1st of January 2011. Deterioration of a mirror in five years does not seem acceptable so the consumer guarantee should apply however the date of purchase falls into a prior legislative regime. Handling purchases prior to the 1-Jan-2011 are discussed on the government ACCC website – www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/products-services-bought-before-2011. In this case, the product may have met the requirements of the previous legislation in which case there is no remedy available.
Relief from the Body Corporate’s insurance policy is unlikely. Generally, insurers have policy exclusions such as – ‘We will not pay for the cost of rectifying faulty or defective materials or faulty or defective workmanship’.