Stage 8 of the Strata Building Bond and Inspections Scheme is the final stage. It is only relevant if the final inspection and report identified outstanding defects and the cost to rectify the defects has been determined. The building bond amount is equivalent to the cost to rectify or if the cost to rectify is more than the bond amount, the full amount is then released to the owners corporation to remediate. They have up until 36 months/3 years of the date of the Occupation Certificate to complete the works.
Should the leftover bond amount remain following completion of the work, it must be returned to the developer.
Instances that can affect the 3 year period include:
- Application for extensions has been made to the Secretary by any party along the way.
- Reviewable decisions are issued by the Secretary.
- Tribunal orders varying the building bond amount.
The summary of all 8 stages is available here.