A decision of the New South Wales Court of Appeal has addressed an important question in residential construction disputes: must an owner give a builder an opportunity to rectify defects before claiming the cost of rectification?
In Ceerose Pty Ltd (Ceerose) v The Owners – Strata Plan No 89074 (Owners), the Court of Appeal held that there is no positive obligation for an owner to provide a builder the opportunity to rectify and that refusal of access will not necessarily amount to a failure to mitigate loss.
However the Court of Appeal did not directly address the interaction of the common law with relevant statutory provisions.
Background
Ceerose constructed a Sydney apartment building known as The Eliza, which was completed in 2014.
