This case study was commissioned by the Office of the Building Commissioner (OBC) as part of the Construct NSW reform strategy. It provides research into the experience of some customers who purchase newly constructed apartments in NSW.

The case study examines the management of defects in the development known as Otto 2 and in doing so, the conduct of various parties involved including the developer, builder, the owners corporation and its various consultants and advisors.

Otto 2 provides some insights into the lived experience that many other apartment owners suffer in buildings with defects.

This first case study will be used to help inform future reforms and to shine a light onto the roles that the many players involved have played. These case studies will be used to raise awareness and industry capability and to hold developers accountable for their defects.

This interim report comes three years into the building reforms being implemented in NSW to lift the compliance of and public confidence in residential apartment buildings. At the start of this journey, the focus was on new builds. That focus was expanded to legacy buildings with serious defects during 2022. In response, Project Intervene was launched in November 2022. Using the 2021 NSW Residential Apartments (Compliance and Enforcement Powers) Act (NSW), Project Intervene specifically targets developers of buildings with legacy defects.

It is acknowledged that the performance of NSW Fair Trading as regulator may not have been as effective in getting defects resolved in the past as may have been desirable. This is changing as new powers and capabilities are implemented.