NSW strata · staged prototype
The statutory defect deadlines your strata software doesn't track.
DefectLedger is a deadline diary for NSW strata portfolios — building-bond claim windows, warranty periods and the long-stop date, computed as estimates from your records and escalated before each one closes. It is built to keep every window on one diary, so your solicitor starts ahead.
General information only. Every date is a computed estimate from dates you supply — your solicitor verifies every one before action. This page is a staged prototype; solicitor review is pending.
01 · Coverage
What the diary is built to watch
Every NSW strata scheme sits under the same four statutory regimes. This is what the diary computes — as estimates from the dates you register, with the arithmetic shown next to every date.
| Regime | What it is (general information) | Window the diary computes |
|---|---|---|
| Building bond SSMA 2015, s 209 |
A security bond held against building defects on new developments. | 2 years from completion, or 60 days after the final inspection report — whichever is later. Bond value: 2% of contract price (3% for completions on/after 1 July 2028 in the prototype ruleset). |
| Minor defects HBA 1989, s 18E |
Statutory warranty period for minor defects under the Home Building Act. | 2 years from completion. |
| Major defects HBA 1989, s 18E |
Statutory warranty period for major defects. Major vs minor is an engineering/legal opinion — the diary will not classify a defect. | 6 years from completion. |
| Duty-of-care long-stop DBP Act 2020, s 37 |
The long-stop outer limit under the Design and Building Practitioners Act. | 10 years. Where a discovery limb could shorten the effective window, it is shown only as a provisional estimate — never as a live headline. |
Periods shown are the prototype ruleset's encoded statutory periods [unverified — solicitor review pending]. Every live date is a computed estimate from your inputs: "completion" is whatever date you register, and the diary says so on every output.
02 · Process
How it works
One registration per building. Then the diary does the arithmetic and the diary-keeping.
Register once
Completion date, contract price, bond lodgement status, final-report date — from your records, with the onboarding checklist. Your dates, your responsibility: the diary echoes every input on every report.
We compute every deadline
Every date shows its working: the Act, the section, the arithmetic, and a confidence band — plus a prompt to confirm it with your strata lawyer before any action.
Escalation, then action packs
Alerts at 12 / 6 / 3 / 1 months. At each trigger, a pack for your solicitor: Scott Schedule, Fair Trading draft, NCAT timing guidance, AGM motions.
03 · Boundary
What this is — and is not
Read this before the checkout. The product's legal boundary is structural: the riskiest judgments are things it refuses to do, not things it promises to do carefully.
✓ It does
- ✓ Compute deadline estimates from dates you supply, with the arithmetic shown
- ✓ Escalate before each estimated window closes, on a fixed schedule
- ✓ Surface both readings where a provision admits two, and escalate — never resolve them for you
- ✓ Generate template packs stamped "for solicitor review before use"
- ✓ Flag garbage inputs (future dates, conflicting completion dates) as warnings, never silently
✕ It does not
- ✕ Give legal advice — nothing here is a solicitor's opinion and it never creates a solicitor–client relationship
- ✕ Classify defects as major or minor — ambiguous severity is escalated, not decided
- ✕ Tell you definitively that you are "in time" or have "lost" a right
- ✕ File anything with Fair Trading, Building Commission NSW, or NCAT
- ✕ Advise on forums, litigation strategy, or settlements
04 · Pricing
One plan. Per building.
No tiers, no per-seat pricing, no setup fee. You pay for buildings on the diary.
150-building portfolio: A$29,850/year [illustrative arithmetic on an unverified price]. Cancel anytime; your data exports with you [staged terms — final ToS pending solicitor review]. Checkout on this prototype is test-mode only.
Why managers tell us they want this
The incumbent workflow is manual registers and annual AGM reminder motions [verified 2026-09-28 — public docs review of StrataMax, MRI Strata Master, Urbanise Strata and OurBodyCorp found no statutory defect-deadline computation]. Committees turn over; diary entries are manual.
- ✓ One missed building-bond claim on a A$40M build is A$800,000 — 2% of the contract price, back to the developer [arithmetic on the encoded bond rate; not a promised saving]
- ✓ Every building's windows on one screen, with the working shown next to every date
- ✓ Your solicitor gets a head start on every matter, instead of a panicked call at week 103
Why you might not
Three objections the prototype must answer before any live page does:
- ✕ The value question. The diary's own framing says "verify every date with a solicitor" — so you are paying for dates you still can't act on without a lawyer. The honest pitch is narrower: a diary that keeps windows visible and hands the solicitor a head start. If that framing doesn't justify A$199/building to you, the product fails.
- ✕ The input burden. Anchor dates live across Strata Hub, DA files, agency agreements and developer paperwork — not in one system. Registration effort is real and unmeasured in the prototype.
- ✕ Expired windows. The first run on an old portfolio will show closed windows. Handled as inherited history, not blame — but it's an uncomfortable conversation either way.
05 · Questions
Straight answers
Is this legal advice?
Which states are covered?
Do my current platforms already do this?
What if a defect might be major or minor?
How accurate are the dates?
What does it cost?
Put your portfolio's windows on one diary.
Staged prototype — test checkout only, no real payments. Solicitor review of the ruleset, templates and terms is still pending, and is a mandatory gate before any live use.