Off Plan Resolve
Developer changed my apartment specifications: what are my options?

Off Plan Resolve Insights · Material changes

Developer changed my apartment specifications: what are my options?

Finishes, materials, layouts and sizes can all end up different from what was presented. Whether a particular change creates a claim is a narrower question than most purchasers expect.
Developer changed my apartment specifications: what are my options?

Variation rights exist

Not every variation creates a valid claim. Many SPAs give developers some right to vary aspects of the unit or the development. The work is in identifying which changes fall outside what was permitted, and which of those are material enough to matter.

What has to be compared

The analysis is a comparison, not a complaint.

  • What was represented at the point of sale
  • What the SPA actually obliges the developer to deliver
  • What the SPA permits the developer to change
  • What in fact changed
  • Whether that change is material
  • What evidence exists for each of the above

Marketing material is the asset purchasers throw away

Brochures, floor plans, finishes schedules, renders, price lists and the agent’s messages establish what was represented. They are routinely lost between reservation and handover. Screenshots and forwarded messages are still worth keeping.

On area and measurement

Comparing a marketed area figure with a delivered one is not always like-for-like, because the basis of measurement can differ. That is worth checking before a complaint is framed around a percentage difference.

Remedies vary with objective

Some purchasers want a price adjustment, some want remediation, some want out. The change that supports one of those outcomes does not automatically support another.

If you already purchased an off-plan property and are experiencing this issue, submit your SPA to Off Plan Resolve for a case assessment.

Case assessment

Tell us what happened.

Six short steps. You can stop at the SPA and send the rest later. Everything you submit is treated as confidential.

Off Plan Resolve

You’ve already invested in the property.
Invest a few minutes in understanding your position.

Tell us about the development, upload your SPA and explain what has gone wrong.