News - Planning & development

The star ratings farce continues.

The following from this Saturday's Canberra Times property liftout:

• Cosy Crs Harrison EER0 (brand new - means the builder doesn't want to declare their rating - what have they got to hide?)
• Ada Baker St Forde EER4 (not even completed yet!)
• Jenolan St Harrison EER3.5
• Redbank St Harrison EER3.5
• Whim St Harrison EER3.5
• Minnie Bruce St  Franklin EER4
• Eldorado St Harrison EER3.5

Everything at Harrison should be a minimum of 4, but later houses should be 5 - just can't tell as it depends on when their plans were lodged. Everything at Forde and Franklin should be 5 star - there should be no reason why brand new and not even completed houses have anything less than the minimum star rating (or better).

What's going on?

Don't buy houses with low star ratings - they will cost you more to run; they will be less comfortable for you to live in - summer and winter.

There was this one:
Judith Wright St Franklin EER 6 (against a minimum of 5 - well done)

Every home built in the ACT has to meet a minimum 5-star energy efficiency rating. This was increased in 2006 from a 4-star minimum. So every house built in Harrison should be at least 4-star (many 5-star) and every house in Forde and Franklin should be 5-star.

Yet a perusal of any real estate pages reveals numerous ads for houses in these areas that do not meet these ratings. From the Canberra Times property liftout of 22 March:

• Megalong St, Harrison EER 3.5
• Wunderlich St, Gungahlin EER 3.5
• Gozzard St, Gungahlin EER 3.0
• Redbank St, Harrison EER 3.5
• Drummer St, Harrison EER 3.0
• Whim St, Harrison EER 3.5
• Gundaroo Drv, Yerrabi EER 3.5
• Eldorado St, Harrison EER 3.5
• Anthony Rolfe Drv, Gungahlin EER 3.0
• Eva West St, Gungahlin EER 2.5

...and so on. Maybe one in five homes advertised as not meeting the minimum standard. We've seen homes at Forde with EER 4.0 too.

What's going on?

We asked Neil Savery of ACTPLA at a recent meeting of the Planning and Development Forum. He conceded that ACTPLA has no ability to police the energy efficiency ratings, even though this is a cornerstone of the sustainability goals of the Territory Plan. But they are pursuing changes to Construction Occupations (Licensing) Act 2004 legislation that should improve things. We await advice of progress on this.

But surely there is a role for ACTPLA's inspectors to ensure that what was promised on the DA plans is what is delivered on the ground?

In the meantime, if you are looking at purchasing a home, remember that the higher the star rating, the cheaper to run and more comfortable your new home will be.

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