Domestic Building Insurance for Multi-Storey Residential Buildings

High Density living is sprouting up all over Melbourne, especially on main roads and within close proximity of railway stations.

A multi-storey residential building is defined under Schedule 1 of the Insurance Order as a building—

a. that has a rise in storeys of more than 3; and

b. that contains 2 or more separate dwellings.

When determining the rise in storeys of the building for the purpose of Domestic Building Inusrance (DBI), only the Class 2 and Class 7 (carpark containing other facilities) parts that are domestic building work under a major domestic building contract are considered, regardless of where the Class 2 portion is located in the building. If there are more than three storeys including a combination of Class 2 and 7 (carpark containing other facilities) then DBI is not required.

Domestic Building Insurance protects the consumer for defective works to a building if the builder happens to be dead, missing, bankrupt, or fails to follow a court order.

If you are thinking of purchasing a low-rise multi-unit property, either off the plan or completed, it’s a good idea to check to see if DBI is included. Anything over 4 storeys from ground level certainly will not include DBI for instance.