A Study on Building Inspection and Building Defect Rectification From the Contractors' and House Buyers' Sentiments

Introduction

Over the centuries, the building has had a significant and multipurpose connection worldwide. The primary purpose of a building is to provide an environment with privacy, security, and protection. Occupants would not consider much about the nature of the buildings. However, with civilization development in times, people started to have more and more rigorous requirements towards building construction projects as the building has become one of the basic needs for daily operation. There are numerous different forms of housing in Malaysia, and some other countries have their interpretation of various residential properties (“Types of Residential Properties in Malaysia”, 2015).

Increasing the population of people greatly impacts the high demand for residential buildings as residential buildings is one of the basic human necessities. Residential building construction projects play an essential role in Malaysia's economic growth, as it is one of the main pillars of construction that contribute to the country's economy. According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia Official Portal (2022) quarterly construction statistics, the value of completed construction projects contracted to RM29.5 billion in the first quarter of 2022. The residential buildings subsector contributed 24.2 percent to the approximate RM7.14 billion value of construction work done among other subsectors in the quarter. With the increase in the completion of residential buildings, the possibility of defective works found in buildings is also increasing. For instance, the attendance of deficiencies in buildings will raise the need for building inspection and defect rectification.

Defective works can be found in a new residential building or first-hand dwelling even though it is newly constructed. In this research study, a new residential building and first-hand dwelling mainly describe the building’s defect liability period (DLP) at vacant possession (VP) within 12 months to 24 months or others stated in the sale and purchase agreement (SPA). It starts from the date the homeowner received delivery of the VP and keys of the property (Teoh, 2021). During this period, the developer is responsible for rectifying any shortcomings in structures that might cause by shoddy workmanship or defective materials.

In construction, there is several aspects that cause the necessity of building inspection. End users' minor involvement in setting functional and quality requirements has cultivated a reputation of inferior quality at consumption. Construction defects can cause an adverse contribution to project performance, time, and cost multiply (Forcada et al., 2015). Rotimi et al. (2015) pointed out that adequate supporting information implies that the number of deficiencies in new residential buildings is substantial and requires careful attention. Additionally, real estate agents and sellers may conceal a potential buyer's inherent fundamental flaws in the property.

What is the purpose of building inspection? Lau (2020) defined building inspection as an assessment carried out by a professional team to investigate the fundamental causes of identified building defects and subsequently provide rectification solutions to ensure the building can remain in service without posing safety hazards to its occupants.

Buildings are assets whose worth fluctuates depending on the quality of the defect rectification undertaken. The value of a building will increase with appropriate rectification and vice versa. Likewise, it would not always be economical to dismantle and restructure to upgrade existing ones (Lateef, 2009). Hong (2016) indicated that if the inspection is done as early as VP, the cost of inspecting and rectifying the building is lower. Hence, remedial works are likely to occur for efficient performance, especially for new residential housing, although the activities incur additional time and cost from a short-term perspective.