LET’S BUILD CONFIDENCE IN SECTOR
FOR most Tasmanians, the purchase of a house is the largest investment they will make in their lifetime. In addition to being a place to live, homes are, for the most part, our largest asset. This is even more so during a time when housing prices are soaring.
Purchasers must be able to have confidence that they are not being ripped off.
Labor has in recent months been raising questions about the system in place to warrant the work of new home builders. A troubling number of people have come forward to detail issues that they have had with new builds and the trouble that they have had in rectifying them.
In many cases, what would appear to be simple failures to deliver work of the required standards has caused major headaches for owners as they have had to resort to expensive legal action or forced to engage new contractors to achieve a satisfactory outcome.
Tasmania’s regulator is Consumer, Building and Occupation Services, which has a range of mechanisms from cautions to disqualification of builders’ licences if work is not up to scratch and no resolution can be reached.
Labor is pushing for a parliamentary inquiry into the issue. The government has countered by consulting with some of those who have been affected. Attorney-General Elise Archer says she is considering putting building disputes in the hands of the new Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to deliver simpler, cheaper and swifter avenues to justice.
Ms Archer is less keen on the idea of a parliamentary inquiry, rejecting the idea out of hand.
In recent years, other states, most notably New South Wales, have gone through similar experiences that suggested perhaps the balance between self-regulation and strong oversight had swung too far in favour of developers. In 2018, the 34-level Opal Towers in Sydney had to be evacuated due to construction defects, putting 3000 people out of their homes. Subsequent reports found that substandard work was common in new builds and made changes to the law, including a new watchdog and tougher registration requirements for those in the industry.
Tasmania is experiencing a construction boom with demand for new builds and a shortage of both skilled labour and materials. It is not a great leap of logic to conclude that the risk of substandard work is elevated.
The government’s refusal to consider a parliamentary inquiry into the issue is puzzling, given the heartache some Tasmanians have been put through by the current regimen.
It is in the interests of all concerned – buyers, builders and the general public – that confidence in the industry is maintained.