NSW Building Commissioner to oversee repair of hundreds of defective homes in Shell Cove
The NSW building regulator will oversee the repair of hundreds of homes in a new housing estate after describing their defects as "shocking".
Building issues, mostly related to waterproofing, have been identified in 325 of the 354 homes at the Shell Cove Marina, in the NSW Illawarra region, since 2019.
The multi-million-dollar residential development is part of a joint venture between Singapore-based developer Frasers Property and Shellharbour City Council.
It is unclear how many homes have already been repaired.
Building operations executive director Matt Press said the arrangement with Frasers Property was the first voluntary undertaking related to class one, or free-standing homes, since the commission was granted extra powers.
"Undertakings are a relatively new tool in our regulatory toolkit," he said.
Shellharbour Mayor Chris Homer said Frasers Property may have "dropped the ball" in addressing all home repairs, but Mr Press said it was time for an added level of governance.
Mr Press said the arrangement would be "better for everyone".
"I think it's been challenging for the developer … basically every owner is an individual party to this. So, it really needed the support of the building commission to bring all the parties together," he said.
Mr Press said Frasers would hire the undertakings manager but they would "act on behalf of the commission", ensuring repairs were compliant and timely.
Affected residents can opt in to the undertaking, but home owner Chris Maude said the ongoing situation had battered the community's trust.
"I've lost a lot of respect for how Frasers has approached this, just with the lack of care with some of the finishings and how they have gone about some of the work," he said.
Mr Maude said Frasers Property tried several times to fix waterproofing issues at his home, causing him to take time off work and "mental strain".
"Some of the work that had been done required a structural engineer to come and assess the work after there was some damage that happened as a result of them doing the work," he said.
Despite her home being covered in scaffolding for four months, Robyn Parkinson was pleased with repairs to mould and water ingress at her home.
"They rebuilt our balcony. They did a whole lot of work on the roof … and replaced the timber pergola," she said.
She has since downsized and had to supply a scope of works reports to aid the concerns of the new buyer.
"The thing with all of this is it should never have happened in the first place," she said.
Frasers Property said in a statement its "absolute priority" was to continue to complete the rectification works program for customers.
Shell Cove has served as a significant income stream for the council over the past 30 years, but Cr Homer said the project's completion may result in a budget deficit.
"There is projected to be a budget deficit. I mean, whether that's seen as something as a real negative [is unclear]," he said.
"But at the end of the day, the money there will be invested for the good of the ratepayers of this city."
Cr Homer said he hoped the voluntary undertaking would help end ongoing structural issues for Shell Cove home owners.
"It's huge, it can be risky. But the payoff is huge as well, I mean, we have a beautiful marina."
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