SSC Group Holdings is the first developer in NSW to be prosecuted under the state’s Residential Apartment Buildings Act.
Executive director at Fair Trading NSW Matt Press said SSC Group Holdings was convicted and fined $11,000 in the Sutherland Local Court for failing to give an expected completion notice to NSW Fair Trading in an acceptable amount of time.
“Expected completion notices are designed to give NSW Fair Trading a heads up when an apartment is near completion and ready for people to move into,” Press said.
“Notices are one of many nation-leading ways NSW Fair Trading stays informed and manages the industry holding developers and practitioners accountable.
“The notice must be submitted six to 12 months before the development is finished so it can be checked for serious defects and repairs carried out before the building is occupied.
“SSC Group Holdings did not stick to the required timeframes and have been prosecuted.”
SSC Group Holdings has the right to appeal.
Press said this tough legislation protects residents and owners.
“The RAB Act was introduced in 2020 to stop apartments with serious defects being sold and occupied and gives NSW Fair Trading powers to order repairs and keep people out until the faults are fixed,” he said.
“We are determined to restore public confidence in the building industry and this conviction is proof we expect strict compliance from developers.”