Snapshot
- In the last nine years, there have been many reforms addressing issues in the construction and acquisition of residential apartments.
- This summary of such changes will assist practitioners to understand the scope of the reforms and to explain the changes to concerned purchaser clients.
- As defective building work and protections for purchasers buying off-the-plan continue to be priority issues for the government, it is likely there will be more changes in the future.
The last decade has seen a raft of legislative changes to address issues in the construction and acquisition of residential apartments and to provide greater consumer protection. It began in 2015 with sunset date reform after a public outcry about developers delaying completion to rescind off-the-plan contracts to take advantage of a rising market. The reforms went on to deal with mandatory disclosure in off-the-plan contracts.
The increasing occurrence of major defective building work in recent years led to a crisis in public confidence in the industry. Since 2020, there have been significant changes to legislation, including construction law, to minimise defects and clarify liability.
This article is a summary of legislative changes, over the past nine years, which are relevant to reviewing contracts of sale for off-the-plan or new apartment builds. It aims to assist practitioners in understanding the scope of the reforms and explaining the changes to concerned purchaser clients.
Practitioners should note that defective building work and protections for purchasers buying off-the-plan continue to be priority issues for the NSW Government. Accordingly, whilst this article summarises what has occurred over the past nine years, it is likely that changes will continue to occur in this space over coming years.
