Add Category
A lack of regulation by the NSW government has been blamed for the collapse of a major Sydney development company, leaving thousands of owners in limbo.
Key points:
- Toplace Pty Ltd has gone into voluntary administration
- Stuctural defects have been found at several of its developments
- Premier Chris Minns insists the building commissioner will be tough on industry compliance
Administrators from DVT Group have been appointed to Toplace Pty Ltd, owned and founded by developer Jean Nassif who is overseas and accused of fraud offences.
The company claims to have built about 30,000 properties across Sydney, and structural defects have been identified at several of its developments.
The state's assistant building commissioner on Friday issued an urgent building work rectification order for Toplace's Vicinity complex at Canterbury, over "potential serious defects".
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal also last week revoked stays placed on suspensions of Mr Nassif's and Toplace's building licences.
It came after NSW Fair Trading last year cancelled the licences after identifying serious defects at the company's Skyview project in Castle Hill and the Vicinity complex.
NSW Police issued a warrant for Mr Nassif's arrest over alleged fraud offences in June, with the 55-year-old believed to be in Lebanon.
Apartment owners call for greater oversight
The appointment of administrators came as no surprise to some owners of apartments in the Vicinity complex who have been locked in an ongoing fight over remediation works.
Former strata committee chair Leith Dawes said he had "mixed feelings" about Toplace's plight.
"I think the property industry in the Sydney market is well and truly aware of the poor reputation of Toplace and I think everyone knew it was a matter of time before the building entity would see the end of its days," Mr Dawes said.
Mr Dawes said the NSW government should also be held responsible, arguing a lack of regulation had led to the problem of building defects in apartment complexes.
"They are the ones that should really be picking up the pieces," he said.
"It's a case of Russian roulette, really. There's nothing you can do really as a buyer to confirm whether serious latent structural defects exist or not.
Premier urges Jean Nassif to come forward
Premier Chris Minns on Wednesday said it was important for those who had put down a deposit on a Toplace-built apartment register as an unsecured creditor and contact the administrators.
"I know that the building commissioner is working with the tenants' associations in New South Wales, as well, for those that have already bought our moved into a Toplace property," Mr Minns said.
"We need to allow those administrators to undertake their work and determine what the full scale of the financing of the organisation is, as well as whatever potential damages there are on what we think are about 10 properties in New South Wales that they're looking at.
"There are many creditors and law enforcement agencies that are keen to speak to Mr Nassif, I would encourage him to make himself available to investigators in New South Wales so that we can find out exactly what he's done in this state and what his potential liabilities are."
Government insists 'strong cop' on enforcement beat
Mr Minns said the new building commission established by his government, and led by Building Commissioner David Chandler, was already "making a difference" in its stronger enforcement powers.
"He has hit the ground running in terms of his increased responsibilities to ensure that the building code is complied with in New South Wales and that homebuyers know that there's a strong cop on the beat protecting their interests," he said.
"And obviously confidence, when it comes to buying off-the-plan or for new apartments, is extremely important.
"We need to make sure that supply keeps coming online, it's the only way we're going to deal with homelessness pressures, as well as more people coming into Sydney and New South Wales over the coming two years."
The administrators and Toplace have been contacted for a response.
In a statement on Tuesday, Fair Trading acknowledged the voluntary administration would "create uncertainty" for many strata communities and businesses.
It said anyone who had paid a deposit for an off-the-plan sale through Toplace should contact conveyancers or a lawyer to check their contractual entitlements.