Off-the-plan apartment purchases sit in their own legal category. You committed to the contract years before settlement. The build was completed. The pre-settlement inspection identified defects. You were told they’d be rectified post-settlement (or in some cases, told they were already rectified when they weren’t). You settled. Now the developer is dragging the defect rectification process out for months — or denying the defects exist at all.
Off-the-plan disputes involve overlapping legal frameworks: the contract of sale, the building contract between the developer and the builder, the strata-title legislation, and (in NSW especially) recent reforms targeting defective off-the-plan apartments specifically.
What you have on your side
- Contract of sale — typically requires the developer to deliver the apartment in a condition substantially as per the plans and specifications
- Statutory warranties — under each state’s home-building or strata legislation, the developer/builder is liable for defects for 6 years (major) and 2 years (non-major) from completion
- NSW Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 — applies to NSW apartment buildings; gives unit owners direct claims against builders, designers, and developers for defects
- Consumer guarantees — for goods and services components, the Australian Consumer Law applies
- Developer obligations under strata law — most states require defects bonds or have strata-defects schemes
The Letter of Demand approach
Before going to your owners corporation or strata committee for collective action (which has its own merits), an individual Letter of Demand to the developer is often the fastest way to get your specific defects addressed. It:
- Identifies the apartment (lot, plan, settlement date, contract reference)
- Itemises each defect with photos, plus your pre-settlement inspection report and any independent building report
- Cites the contract clauses, statutory warranties, and (in NSW) the DBP Act provisions
- Demands rectification within a specific timeframe (typically 30 days for non-urgent, 14 days for water ingress / safety issues)
- Names the escalation path: NCAT (NSW), VCAT (VIC), QCAT (QLD), or the relevant state body for strata defects
- Notes that the strata committee will be informed if rectification doesn’t occur, triggering collective action by the owners corporation
Coordinate with the strata committee
Your individual claim runs in parallel with collective claims by the owners corporation for common-property defects. The two reinforce each other — and a developer facing both individual and collective claims has strong commercial pressure to settle.
Flat fee
Claim Done’s Letter of Demand for off-the-plan defects is $79. The wizard handles apartment-purchase scenarios, including the NSW DBP Act framework where applicable. The AI drafts the letter; we send it to the developer (CC builder, strata committee, and any defects-bond administrator if you instruct).
If the developer doesn’t engage, your state tribunal handles defect claims up to substantial thresholds. For NSW DBP Act claims, the District Court or Supreme Court depending on value.