The Owners  Strata Plan 61288 v Brookfield Australia Investments (New South Wales Court of Appeal, 25 September 2013)

BACKGROUND

SP 61288 is the owner of the common property of serviced apartments, the Mantra Chatswood Hotel (rather than a residential development).  The statutory warranties by the builder under the Home Building Act (which allow a 6 year period for the discovery of structural defects) did not apply to the construction, as those warranties only apply to residential building work.

The NSW Court of Appeal has decided that a breach of section 62 of the Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 (the mandatory obligation for a strata plan to maintain the common property) does not give rise to an action for damages for breach of its statutory duty.