Rising Dangers: Australia’s High-Rise Apartment Defects Crisis

Rising Dangers: Australia’s High-Rise Apartment Defects Crisis

a view of a city from a window

In recent years, Australia has seen a push to loosen zoning restrictions in the ‘missing middle’ suburbs of major cities, paving the way for the construction of more high-rise apartment towers. However, this push overlooks the numerous issues that arose from the previous high-rise apartment boom, which resulted in widespread problems in many buildings.

The issues with last decade’s high-rise boom are alarming, as it led to numerous faulty and even combustible buildings. As building regulation consultant Bronwyn Weir warned, “Thousands and thousands of apartments have serious defects in their buildings. [The problem] is enormous.” These defects could have severe consequences, with some buildings potentially being a complete write-off.

The Strata Community Association of NSW conducted research in October 2021, which revealed that nearly four out of five new apartment towers in the state had severe faults. This study was prompted by evacuations at Mascot Towers and Opal Tower due to significant structural issues. A parliamentary inquiry in New South Wales also uncovered major issues in recently built apartment buildings, with similar systemic problems observed in Melbourne’s apartment complexes.

Apartment defects range from balcony problems to toxic mold and leaks. Engineer Leith Dawes even warned that buying off-the-plan is a risky gamble akin to playing “Russian roulette.” In one instance, owners of 276 apartments in Sydney’s inner west Vicinity complex were left facing a $50 million repair bill due to “concrete cancer” in some internal columns. Another example is the body corporate for a $156 million unit block in Fortitude Valley suing construction giant Brookfield Multiplex over alleged defects, including water “ponding”, incorrect tiling installation, and cracks in the carpark concrete slab.

The cause of such widespread issues in high-rise apartment buildings can be traced back to the rapid construction brought on by a sharp increase in immigration. This surge in demand led to a prioritization of speed over quality, resulting in thousands of faulty apartments being built. As data shows, units and apartments made up the majority of new dwellings built in Australia’s major cities over the past decade.

The Albanese Government has set a bold plan for immigration, resulting in more than 454,000 migrants arriving in Australia in the year to March 2023. In order to accommodate this population growth, the latest Intergenerational Report predicts that Australia will need to build at least 5 million new homes within the next 40 years to house an increase of 14.2 million people.

This raises a critical question: what will be the impact on building standards if Australia is forced to expand housing supply rapidly to accommodate this population growth? Unfortunately, the answer seems clear: building standards will likely erode even further in the rush to construct apartments quickly in response to an expanding population. The result? A surge in subpar high-rise towers cropping up across Australia’s cities, with little benefit observed aside from an increase in profits for certain elites.

This unsettling prospect of a future filled with low-quality housing serves as a warning and reminder that embracing rapid construction of high-rise apartments without considering the potential negative consequences is a dangerous game to play. Rather than pushing for speedy solutions to accommodate population growth, it’s crucial to prioritize the safety, comfort, and satisfaction of Australia’s city dwellers by ensuring the construction of quality, sustainable housing.

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