Collapsed developer Toplace ordered to fix another defective Sydney building

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Collapsed developer Toplace has been ordered to fix yet another a defective Sydney building. Uncontrolled cracking has been found in the Kellyville apartment complex. It was the third Toplace development slapped with a rectification order in one week.

Transcript

00:00 This apartment complex in Kellyville is called the Grand, but the assessment from the Assistant

00:07 Building Commissioner was anything but. An inspection in December last year uncovered

00:12 potential serious defects, including uncontrolled cracking to basement slabs and water entry

00:18 into the building causing unhealthy and dangerous conditions.

00:22 There's clearly been a culture of cost and corner cutting in this group as well as many

00:28 others. The developer, Hector Court Proprietary Limited,

00:32 is a subsidiary of Toplace and has been slapped with a work rectification order. It's been

00:37 given six months to fix the most serious defects. But last month, Toplace went into administration.

00:44 Owner Jean Nassif is wanted by New South Wales Police over alleged fraud. He claims to be

00:50 in a remote part of Lebanon. We're happy to pay for the airfare back here,

00:54 but he has to make himself available to law enforcement in relation to their questions.

00:58 The ABC understands owners of the Grand in Kellyville still have several months to lodge

01:02 a claim for repairs with the developer's administrators. New South Wales Fair Trading says it's not

01:08 aware of any immediate safety risk to residents. It's not clear what their rights are and how

01:14 this will play out. Normally it would be very lengthy litigation that costs hundreds of

01:20 thousands if not more and may never be successful. The complex was the third Nassif development

01:26 to be hit with a work rectification order in a week, with uncontrolled cracking also

01:30 discovered at the Pemberton-on-the-Park at Botany and the Habitat building in Canterbury.

01:36 Toplace and its administrators were contacted for comment.

01:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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