In this week’s podcast we hear the voice of defect rectification in NSW as David Chandler takes to the airwaves to explain why two different surveys have revealed that about half of the apartment blocks built in the past 15 years in NSW have serious defects.And, in extracts from a session he shared with JimmyT on the James Valentine Afternoons show on ABC 702, we hear what he’s already doing to fix the situation.It’s a slightly different format this time as we dip into David’s comments then discuss them topic by topic. We’re not just running the chat in full, end to end.But one of the problems, we discover, is the very low percentage of blocks that report problems when they discover themWe also get a sense of David’s frustration at the way NSW’s progress in removing and replacing flammable cladding is being compared unfavourably and, he says, unfairly with Victoria’s very different approach.And he answers the multi-million-dollar question ... should you even think about buying an apartment off-the-plan?Moving on, we examine a very real example of a building with defects issues, leading to it almost being evacuated last week.And we hear how apartment rents are starting to rise again as tenants take advantage of the inner-city slump to trade up to larger apartments in better areas.TRANSCRIPT IN FULLJimmy 00:00So, we're in the last stage of the road to freedom.Sue 00:05Yes, it's fantastic. We both have haircuts... I've been to the cinema.Jimmy 00:10Been double vaccinated, like 80% of people in New South Wales.Sue 00:15And Victoria is almost on the same trajectory as well. Just a bit behind us.Jimmy 00:20So, they've loosened some of the restrictions in New South Wales. Guess what difference that makes to living in strata?Sue 00:27You tell me, Jimmy!Jimmy 00:29Absolutely nothing. You still have to mask up on common property; you still have to wear a mask in the lifts. We're going to get more infections, because people are mingling more. I mean, 80% means that one person in every five, isn't double -vaccinated, which is two members of a football team. So, there's going to be a spike in infections, for sure, so we still have to take sensible precautions. Wearing masks; whatever your building manager, or strata manager, or committee, or next door neighbor tells you... You should still be wearing masks on common property, in apartment buildings.Sue 01:09And especially in confined spaces like lifts, I guess.Jimmy 01:12Yes, indeed. Moving on... Last week, I was invited onto the James Valentine afternoon show (on ABC 702), at the same time as David Chandler, the Building Commissioner for New South Wales, to talk about defects and a report by the Strata Community Association that has revealed that four out of every 10 apartments in our apartment blocks, over the last six years, has serious defects. So, he came on; James had a chat with him and I have cherry-picked some of the stuff that David Chandler says, so we'll be listening to that. We're going to hear about an apartment block, which might be one of those (may very well be one of those), which is teetering on the brink of evacuation. And, you're going to tell us some news, which is good news for property invest
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Recorded by Jimmy Thomson & Sue Williams; Transcribed by Otter.ai.
Find out more about Sue Williams and Jimmy Thomson on their websites.
