Colorado adds record insurance coverage for Sanders and Hunter before Alamo Bowl
Four in 10 rectification orders issued by the Building Commission to builders of standalone houses were not complied with inside the mandated period, amid warnings of widespread defects across greenfield construction in Sydney’s southwest. Data obtained by the Herald under NSW freedom of information laws provides a snapshot of the Building Commission’s first-year foray into regulating the construction of residential standalone houses, known as class-one buildings, after new powers legislated in late 2023 boosted the scope and funding of the agency beyond apartments. Homes with defective work are often not being rectified in an acceptable time frame. Credit: Jessica Hromas Cowboy home builders operating in tough financial conditions have forced the commission to suspend and cancel a spate of licences after defects were found across dozens of sites. Rectification orders are issued where building work is non-compliant as a means of remediating the problem before it becomes a serious defect. The data comes at a time the state needs to build 378,000 homes by July 2029. Premier Chris Minns has previously insisted the eye-watering quantity required will not come at the cost of quality, with the building commission empowered to try to prevent a repeat of the Mascot and Opal Towers debacle . Figures provided by the Department of Customer Service show 3339 complaints were received in relation to standalone houses between January 1 and October 8 this year, resulting in 897 inspections. Of those, the commission issued 319 rectification orders, and 126 were not complied with inside the designated period. The new building commissioner, James Sherrard, told the Herald that he did not believe the proportion of rectification orders disobeyed represented a compliance problem for the regulator. New building commissioner James Sherrard does not believe the number of rectification orders ignored represents a compliance problem Credit: Janie Barrett “I don’t believe we do. I mean, you can look at statistics a number of different ways. One in three have already been complied with, I think that is a better way of saying. Some won’t be complied with because the builder has gone under, or some such thing like that,” he said. Sherrard said “a lot of” rectification orders could not be complied with until the project was complete. “So the order is effective in ensuring that we have a solution to the problem, albeit that the strict time frame of the order is there to ensure that we get that adherence,” he said. The Building Commission had also slapped 216 home building licenses with conditions in the first 10 months of the year, limiting their work to apartments. Aggrieved clients of builders have previously questioned the effectiveness of Building Commission-issued rectification orders, finding there was little consequence for builders who defied the compliance measures unless there was a commitment to pursue them legally. Home owners and building commission sources said, in some cases, the cost of defying rectification orders had been baked into the costs for builders, who preferred to be fined and then gamble that financially stressed clients would not have the means to seek remedy through the courts. “Builders would ask if they could pay fines on Amex,” a building commission inspector told this masthead on the condition of anonymity. The source estimated that 75 per cent of houses being constructed would have at least 10 defects, including major issues such as waterproofing or structural issues, pointing to poor education of tradespeople as the driving force behind defects. Chandler has been heartbroken by the state of some of the buildings he has investigated. Credit: Kate Geraghty In August, former building commissioner David Chandler told the Illawarra Mercury there was a “deep denial about the quality of home construction”. Inspections of class-one buildings since last December showed there was “widespread, statewide non-compliant construction going on”. Grahame McCulloch, a third-party building inspector who worked with a number of customers of Punjabi film producer turned home builder Sippy Grewal, said the amount of defective building work was “very, very widespread” in the parts of Sydney’s south-western greenfield fringe where he operated. McCulloch attributed the shoddy workmanship to accelerated learning pathways for tradespeople, leaving a broader pool of underqualified workers to choose from. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .
Senate body to review issues of Qasr-e-Naz in Karachi Meeting of standing committee would also be held on January 3, agenda of which has been issued ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Housing and Works has decided to visit Karachi on January 2 to review the issues of Qasr-e-Naz Karachi. The members of the committee, led by the Chairman of the Standing Committee, Senator Nasir Mahmood, would also inspect the Garden Hostel Karachi, Women’s Hostel Karachi and the four-acre land of the Ministry of Housing. A meeting of the standing committee would also be held on January 3, the agenda of which has been issued. According to the agenda, briefing would be given regarding replacement of previous management and actions of the management of Qasr-e-Naz along with ongoing projects, details of all expenses incurred thereof wef FY 2022-23 and onwards. The committee would also get briefing on status of new building of Qasr-e-Naz, functioning and situation of Garden Officers Hostel, including electricity payments made to K-Electric, status of women hostel of Qasr-e-Naz and utilisation of its space. The committee would be briefed on other issues, including booking of rooms and suites in Qasr-e-Naz.
Colorado adds record insurance coverage for Sanders and Hunter before Alamo BowlBy Nicole Jao NEW YORK (Reuters) -Oil futures fell nearly 2% on Wednesday as investors awaited an imminent OPEC+ decision on production cuts, while a larger-than-expected draw in U.S. crude stockpiles last week lent some support to prices. Brent crude futures fell $1.31, or 1.78%, to settle at $72.31 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures fell $1.40, or 2%, to $68.54. On Tuesday, Brent posted its biggest gain in two weeks, rising by 2.5%. The market was on tenterhooks, with investors focused on the upcoming OPEC+ meeting, analysts said. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies in OPEC+ meet on Thursday, and are likely extend output cuts until the end of the first quarter of next year, industry sources told Reuters. “While a delay to unwinding production cuts is expected, the rhetoric out of the meeting is going to have the biggest sway,” said Kpler lead Americas oil analyst, Matt Smith. OPEC+ has been looking to phase out supply cuts through next year. U.S. crude stocks fell more than expected last week as refiners ramped up operations, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) said. Gasoline and distillate stockpiles rose by more than expected during the week. “A pop in refining activity with runs climbing to a high not seen since the summer has resulted in a see-saw of crude inventories drawing and products building,” said Kpler lead Americas oil analyst Matt Smith. The bullish momentum only lent some support to prices. A shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, South Korea’s curtailed declaration of martial law and a rebel offensive in Syria that threatens to draw in forces from several oil-producing countries all lent support to oil prices, said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. In the Middle East, Israel said on Tuesday it would return to war with Hezbollah if their truce collapses and that its attacks would go deeper into Lebanon and target the state itself. In South Korea, lawmakers have submitted a bill to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol after his declaration of martial law on Tuesday, which was reversed within hours, sparking a political crisis in Asia’s fourth-largest economy. (Reporting by Nicole Jao in New York, Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru and Emily Chow in Singapore; Additional reporting by Paul Carsten; Editing by David Goodman, David Evans and David Gregorio) Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. var ytflag = 0;var myListener = function() {document.removeEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);lazyloadmyframes();};document.addEventListener('mousemove', myListener, false);window.addEventListener('scroll', function() {if (ytflag == 0) {lazyloadmyframes();ytflag = 1;}});function lazyloadmyframes() {var ytv = document.getElementsByClassName("klazyiframe");for (var i = 0; i < ytv.length; i++) {ytv[i].src = ytv[i].getAttribute('data-src');}} Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );Log cabin kitchens are the coziest style to introduce to your home in 2025 – and these 3 spaces offer plenty of inspiration
