Today, the ACT Legislative Assembly will vote on establishing a new Property Developers Act which will hold developers to account for dodgy residential developments.
Minister for Sustainable Building and Construction Rebecca Vassarotti said the Property Developers Bill and changes to residential building work insurance settings will significantly improve consumer protections and improve confidence in the residential building sector.
"When Canberrans buy or rent a home, they should be able to demand the best from those who built them," Minister Vassarotti said.
"Way too often over recent years, high profile cases of poor development have undermined the trust of Canberrans in the home building industry and defined the anxieties of an entire generation of homeowners and renters alike.
"Dodgy development choices by big businesses are estimated to have cost Canberrans more than $50 million each year. It's time this is put to an end.
"Under these new laws, property developers will now need to apply for a license before they can even lay a brick on any new developments in Canberra.
"They will also be held personally liable if they don't fix defects in homes they have built. This will keep developers accountable and remove any incentive for them to put pressure on builders, tradies or certifiers to undertake or sign off dodgy work.
"Canberrans have made it clear that they are fed up with the quality of developments in this city. It's up to every single member of this parliament to make sure they reflect that by voting in favour of this bill.
"Put plain and simple, this Bill will protect Canberrans when they make the most significant purchase of their life. It will give Canberrans greater control and confidence that the property developer behind their new home has capability to deliver a quality product.
"Our cost-benefit analysis has explicitly demonstrated that property developer licensing will save the Canberrans' hard-earned money by reducing the risk of defects after construction.
"Coming towards the end of my first term as Minister for Sustainable Building & Construction, I am immensely proud of the work we have achieved in building regulation.
"In this term I have introduced a new engineers registration scheme, improved registration rules for architects (who already need to be registered) and will be announcing a path forward to strengthen certification before the end of this term."
"In addition, we are also increasing the minimum residential building work insurance amount from $85,000 to $200,000 and the time limit to lodge a claim from 90 days to 180 days. This is another important step to improving protections for people when they are having their homes built."
Background:
Since this Bill was introduced in November last year, the ACT Government has consulted further with stakeholders and considered the recommendations from the Assembly Committee Inquiry and made amendments to the Bill to improve the scheme.
The Government has acted on feedback including allowing for an appropriate transition for developers to get a licence and prepare for the new regulatory regime.
The Government has have also excluded approved aged care providers, given the significant oversight they already have through Commonwealth legislation.
