High-rise horrors: Leaky roofs, dodgy lifts and faulty fire safety

HIGH-RISE buildings are being built with faulty fire safety systems, leaking roofs and even the wrong kind of lifts – but an advocacy group says unit owners face tough battles to get the problems fixed.

Australian Apartment Advocacy (AAA) head Samantha Reece (pictured) said the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) was a “toothless tiger” and major reform was needed to help protect homeowners often left with hefty bills when defects were discovered. “The consumer protection needs to be removed from the QBCC,” Ms Reece said. “It needs to be independent. It needs to be focused on more timely inspections.

“... At one apartment development on the Gold Coast, (the residents) lodged the defects with the QBCC and after 18 months they had done nothing.

“They then decided to actually repair it themselves. Every time they went back to the builder he would say, ‘as soon as I get an order from QBCC to pay for this I’m going to go and phoenix the company, and then my son will go and start up a new company and we’ll just keep moving on’. That’s where QBCC are toothless.”

Ms Reece, who has been called the Erin Brockovich of apartments, said research done by her group at the end of 2019 showed that 50-60 per cent of apartment owners reported some kind of defect.

Based in Perth, she was on the Gold Coast this week where she launched the AAA’S Queensland Education Kit, which provides detailed information for apartment buyers and owners about their rights.

Ms Reece said the AAA was also seeking to provide inspection services, using inspectors independent of builders and developers, during the construction of unit blocks.

“We’re actually looking to inspect as the construction is going on. Like they used to in the good old days.

“... Prevention’s better than cure. Let AAA do the inspections and then you don’t have the issues with defects at the end.”