I know we already have two posts up on the website but we couldn’t let the news that an insurer is going to offer a 10-year warranty on new apartment blocks pass without comment.This is a huge deal for apartment buildings in NSW and, you would have to think, for the rest of Australia too (if their state governments can get over their instinctive and deep-seated contempt for apartment owners and residents).This is exactly what Building Commissioner David Chandler set out to achieve – get the trust in quality of apartment block construction to the point where insurers were prepared to back them. What follows next is that potential buyers will avoid the blocks that aren’t insured. Then the developers whose reputations mean they can’t get gold star approval, and therefore insurance, will go out of business.And this time it will be for good – not just until they can take another $200 company and start ripping people off all over again.That said, the main part of this week’s podcast is the first part of Lawyer in the Hot Seat where strata lawyer (and Flat Chat sponsor) David Bannerman answers your questions, fired at him by yours truly.In this, the first of three parts of our Q&A, David answers questions about mould, including who can claim what from whom, and possible NCAT orders if you or your tenant discovers mould. And on the broader subject of defects, we'll be talking about what is actually the start date for the window in which you can claim against your developer for repairs and remediation.That’s all in this week’s Flat Chat Wrap..TRANSCRIPTBecause I have recorded different parts of this at different times, and then split the Lawyer in the Hot Seat webinar recording into three parts, there has been a lot of cutting and pasting. That means the timings will definitely not relate to the audio and some of the transcriptions may not be as accurate as usual.Please bear with us and, hey, maybe this is your opportunity to receive this as it was intended. Just click on the play arrow under “Listen Here” and let your computer or phone do the work. - JimmyTJimmy 00:00Do you know what the word decennial means?Sue 00:02Is it every 10 years or something like that? Yeah. Why do you seem so surprised?Jimmy 00:08Well, I didn't know what it was. I kept reading about David Chandler, the building Commissioner talking about decennial insurance. And I'm going, what is the decennial, and why does it need to be insured? I asked him why? He doesn't mind a bit of jargon, Commissioner Chandler, and he loves an acronym. He loves initials and the sometimes you read his stuff, and you think I'm gonna have to send this to ASIO to get decoded.Anyway, we will be talking about the decennial insurance and how that's the final piece of the new building gold star iCIRT - there's another acronym – approval system and how it's going to, or it should make a big change for people who are buying new apartments, especially off the plan. And then the rest of the podcast will be devoted to a big chunk of my Lawyer In The Hot Seat session.Sue 01:15Great. So that's answering lots of questions about lots of different things.Jimmy 01:19Yes, lots of different things.Sue 01:21So Jimmy, talking about
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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.
