Stage 2: Building inspector appointment

You are at Stage 2

The developer must appoint a building inspector within 12 months of an occupation certificate being issued.  The developer, building inspector and owners corporation must complete tasks in the Strata Hub.

See an overview of all 8 stages and a process map (PDF 21.41KB) to help you understand each stage.

On this page

Important information about Stage 2

If the building inspector is not appointed by the developer and owners corporation within 12 months of an occupation certificate being issued, the Secretary may arrange one.

The Secretary may also arrange the building inspector if the initial period does not end within 12 months of an occupation certificate being issued.  

If the Secretary arranges the building inspector:

  • the developer will incur an extra fee of $1650 (inclusive of GST)
  • the owners corporation is not required to approve the arrangement.

Find out more about the initial period. 

You can find definitions of key SBBIS terms in our glossary.

Who is involved

  • Developer
  • Building inspector
  • Owners corporation
  • Owners
  • The Secretary (if required)

Who has tasks in the Strata Hub

  • Developer
  • Building inspector
  • Owners corporation

 

What the developer must do  

As a developer, you must appoint a building inspector within 12 months of an occupation certificate (OC) being issued.  

In the Strata Hub:

  1. Select a building inspector from the strata inspector panel.
  2. Provide disclosures (developer and building inspector cannot be connected persons).
  3. Propose the building inspector to owners corporation.
  4. Wait for the owners corporation to accept or reject the building inspector.
  5. If the building inspector is:
    • approved: appoint the building inspector
    • rejected: repeat the process if there is time (otherwise, the Secretary will arrange the building inspector).

A building inspector can only carry out inspections and produce reports for the Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme (SBBIS) if they are a member of a strata inspector panel (PDF 1.06MB).

Once the building inspector has accepted their nomination, the developer should review the builder details in the Strata Hub to ensure they’re correct.

If you need to change the builder details, the developer needs to email stratasystem@customerservice.nsw.gov.au

Documents developers must provide to the building inspector

Within 28 days of appointing the building inspector, the developer must provide them with:

  • the documents as listed under Stage 1 – Building bond lodgement (except the building bond),
  • a document that identifies any building defects in the building work of which the developer is aware, including any building defects addressed at the first annual general meeting of the owners corporation, and
  • the initial maintenance schedule relating to the strata scheme.

The developer may protect/redact commercial in-confidence materials other than those details required to carry out the inspection.

Initial period

The developer (known as the 'original owner’) acts as the owners corporation during the initial period. The initial period starts the day the developer registers the strata plan and ends when at least one third of the unit entitlements are sold. 

The owners corporation then changes from being the developer or original owner of the land, to the actual owners of the units. 

If the initial period of a strata scheme ends within 12 months of the OC being issued, the developer must appoint a building inspector (even if only a partial OC has been issued).

If the initial period does not end within 12 months (because fewer than one third of the units have been sold), the developer must notify the Secretary, who will arrange a building inspector and charge the developer an additional fee.

For more information on the initial period, go to New strata schemes. 

What the building inspector must do

In the Strata Hub, building inspectors must:

  1. Accept the proposal as a building inspector.
  2. Provide disclosures. 

What the owners corporation must do

Once the developer has selected a building inspector, the owners corporation must consider the proposed building inspector.

Here are the steps:

  1. The developer goes to the SBBIS case on the Strata Hub to select, make disclosures and propose the building inspector to the owners corporation.
  2. The proposed building inspector also makes disclosures (if any), on the Strata Hub.
  3. The owners corporation calls a general meeting to consider the proposed building inspector and any disclosures from the developer and the proposed building inspector.
  4. The owners corporation must pass a resolution to approve or reject the appointment of the building inspector. A developer or lessor of a leasehold strata scheme cannot vote (or exercise a proxy vote).
  5. The owners corporation uploads the general meeting minutes in the Strata Hub and completes required actions within 14 days of approving or rejecting the nominated building inspector. Notices are then generated to the developer and Secretary.

If the owners corporation rejects the proposed building inspector, the developer has the option to repeat the process until the owners corporation approves an inspector until the 12 months expires.

Failing to agree on an inspector

If the developer fails to successfully appoint a building inspector within 12 months, they must use the Strata Hub to advise the Secretary within 21 days. The Secretary will then arrange a building inspector and notify the developer and owners corporation.

If the Secretary arranges the building inspector, the  owners corporation approval is not required and a service fee for the developer applies. The developer must pay the service fee in addition to all the inspector costs when the inspector is arranged by the Secretary.

Objection by an owner

An individual owner of a strata scheme lot may object to the owners corporation approval of a building inspector, for any reason. The individual owner must lodge their objection with the Secretary within 14 days of the owners corporation approving the nomination.

The owners corporation will provide written notice to the lot owners of the approval of the building inspector. This notice contains a link to the Strata Hub to lodge their objection.

The Secretary will consider the objection and arrange another building inspector if appropriate. The Secretary will give written notice of the arrangement to the developer and owners corporation. If the Secretary decides to not arrange an alternative building inspector, they will notify those concerned. 

Mandatory guidelines

Under the law, the authorised professional associations must follow these guidelines:

How to complete online tasks

To complete SBBIS tasks, developers, building inspectors and owners corporations need to use the Strata Hub.

Strata Hub instructions

Our instructions make it easy for you to understand what to do on the Strata Hub.

How to complete online tasks if you’re the:

Login to the Strata Hub

Note: Each time you login, you will receive an email with a new verification code to enter.

How to register

Step-by-step instructions to register for the Strata Hub if you’re a:

Register for the Strata Hub

Overview of the 8 stages of the scheme

Stage 1: Building bond lodgement

Developer registers their project and lodges the building bond in the NSW Planning Portal.

You are here – Stage 2: Building inspector appointment

Within 12 months of the building work being finished, the developer must appoint a building inspector.

Stage 3: Interim inspection and report

Between 15 to 18 months after the building work is finished, the building inspector will complete an interim inspection and report.

Stage 4: Rectify defective building work

This can happen at any time, but the builder needs to rectify any identified defects before Stage 5 (indictive period is between 18 to 21 months after the building work is finished).

Stage 5: Final inspection and report

Between 21 to 24 months after the building work is finished, the building inspector will complete a final inspection and report.

Stage 6: Determining the cost to rectify defective building work

If there is defective building work identified in the interim report that has not been rectified, it will be identified in the final report. The cost to rectify the defective building work identified in the final report must be agreed or determined.

Stage 7: Paying the building bond

The building bond is used to pay for the rectification work identified in the final inspection and report. The building bond payment process should be completed between 2 to 3 years after the building work was finished.

Stage 8: Completion

The owners corporation completes the rectification of the defective building work. If the rectification costs less than the building bond, the balance is returned to the developer.

Contact us

Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme

You can contact the SBBIS team at any stage during the SBBIS process via email at stratabond@customerservice.nsw.gov.au

For technical issues, contact the Strata Hub (Stages 2-8) via email at stratasystem@customerservice.nsw.gov.au 

Related information

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