Nova Scotia condos hurt by widespread workmanship woes:
leaked report
CBC News
By Bob Murphy
04 November 2015
An internal government document leaked to the CBC News Investigation
unit cites widespread workmanship problems in Nova Scotia condominium
construction, leaving condo owners with big repair bills and little
recourse against developers.
The report says there is no accountability process to force builders to
fix defects and goes as far as describing some developers as
"unscrupulous."
The document, prepared for the provincial government in 2013, was meant
as advice for the then-minister of Service Nova Scotia, the department
responsible for the Condominium Act. Forty-two condominiums built in
the previous 10 years were surveyed.
The report says defects have cost some individual unit holders an
average of $20,000 to repair. In some cases, bills were expected to
exceed $60,000 a unit.
And in the case of two buildings that came under scrutiny, the report
says the "as-built" plans do not match what was actually constructed.
"In both cases the professionals who signed those plans protest that
the developer did not follow their directions, or that the developer
altered product after rough-in and sign-off was achieved," says the
report, which does not identify the buildings.
Professional
misconduct
The report also questions whether some architects and engineers are
living up to professional practice standards, while admitting it's hard
to tell where the line exists between professional misconduct and
developer responsibility.
It cites one row house-style condominium on the Halifax peninsula where
balconies were not properly attached to the building and could be
pulled away by hand.
The report says in another case a developer's employees dumped
materials into storm drains instead of properly disposing of the waste
in a container.
It says the ensuing backup could have seriously affected municipal
services. Responsibility fell to the condominium corporation, not the
developer, since the problem was noticed after the property was
registered.
The report does not name any developers or condo corporations. But it
gives the clearest picture yet of discontent in the condo scene that
has been brewing for years in the province and begs the question of why
the government hasn't done more to protect homeowners.
It found:
33 (79 per cent) experienced some form of defect from original
construction.
29 corporations (69 per cent) have been subject to varying degrees of
premature building envelope failure.
7 buildings (17 per cent) suffered from a near-total building envelope
failure.
15 buildings (36 per cent) experienced premature mechanical system
failures (electrical, heating, ventilation, plumbing, etc.).
7 buildings (17 per cent) demonstrated latent defects in structural
components and/or fire safety.
15 buildings (36 per cent) suffered from defects in more than one
category.
Flue made of
flammable materials
Ray Hunt knows first hand the cost of fixing building defects.
He bought a condo in Halifax in 2004. After a small fire in the
building, he says it was discovered that a flue was installed with a
liner made of flammable materials. Rainwater also began leaking into
many of the units.
Hunt says that's when he learned about a peculiar aspect of condo
construction in Nova Scotia.
"The task of inspections are turned over to the developer, so he
inspects his own work," he
says.
Municipal inspectors examine condo buildings to ensure fire and
life-safety standards laid out in the National Building Code are
followed, but they do not inspect the quality of builders'
workmanship.
Hunt and the rest of the owners in the building paid $1.7 million to
repair the defects, which included pulling off the cladding and
replacing it.
Poor
workmanship, failure to follow manufacturer instructions
The Service Nova Scotia report says in many cases poor workmanship at
condos and a failure to follow manufacturer instructions were to blame
for the deficiencies. A lack of coordination between project managers,
supervisors, trades and labourers with varying levels of skills was
also cited.
It says at least one major manufacturer of cement board siding pulled
its warranty for the product in Nova Scotia, in part because of
excessive claims due to poor installation.
The report also found shoddy electrical and plumbing were common
complaints. In one building, stove and dishwasher outlets were
installed without proper junction boxes, causing a near fire when a
dishwasher leaked and created a short circuit.
"There is evidence that unskilled and perhaps unlicensed personnel are
performing critical installations even where the law requires licensed
personnel," it says.
Most voluntary, builder-run warranty programs cover a one-year
"builder's warranty" and a five- to seven-year structural warranty.
There are also factory or manufacturer warranties for individual
products such as doors, windows and appliances.
No mandatory
multi-year warranty
Unlike many other provinces, Nova Scotia has no mandatory multi-year
warranty to protect owners.
Mark
Furey
Service Nova
Scotia Minister Mark Furey says the government is talking to other
provinces about how to make mandatory warranties for condo owners more
affordable. (CBC)
"The sheer volume of condominium construction doesn't meet that
threshold where the mandatory warranty would be viable without
significant cost both to government and the construction industry, who
pass on those costs to the purchaser," Service Nova Scotia Minister
Mark Furey said in an interview.
He says the provincial government is in the early stages of discussions
aimed at partnering with neighbouring provinces to make a mandatory
warranty more affordable.
But it's not the first time the province has been told something has to
change. Hunt's experience spurred him to found a group called Condo
Owners of Nova Scotia, or CONS.
He says the group recommended the government require developers to post
a five-year bond that condo corporations could use if defects from
original construction arose. The dollar amount would represent a
percentage of the building's value, although the group never settled on
a number.
"It went to the government and that's where it stopped. Nothing," Hunt
said. "It was very wishy-washy, their answers, and so we gave up. We
knew we weren't going to get anywhere."
The group disbanded earlier this year.
Legal action
The report says two developers agreed to repair defects when they were
brought to their attention. Some condo corporations tried suing
developers, but couldn't because builders had already shut down their
businesses. The majority of condo corporations did not attempt legal
action due to prohibitive costs.
A consultant's report in 2008 that looked at homeowner protection
singled out the condominium sector as the one where "the most serious
problems arise."
Among its recommendations it called for a mandatory inspection of the
building envelope by an engineer or other suitable professional working
at arm's length from the developer.
It also recommended a mandatory warranty for all condominium buildings
that includes water-penetration protection for at least five years.
Some condominium corporations were reluctant to participate in the 2013
survey because of fears it could devalue their property, even though
they were promised confidentiality.
While the survey captured a large sample size, it says it is probably
an "incomplete picture of the total problem."
At the time the report was written, there were 353 condominium
corporations in the province with approximately 12,500 units. More than
300 of the corporations were in Halifax County.
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