A Northern Territory builder who constructed defective homes found to be structurally unsafe during cyclones may now be forced to pay more than $2.7 million in compensation after losing an appeal.
George Milatos on Thursday had his appeal dismissed in the NT Supreme Court, meaning a previous ruling by the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT) still stands.
Mr Milatos was appealing against the validity of the NTCAT’s original ruling, and its ability to order him to pay the home owners such a large amount of compensation.
It's the latest verdict in a years-long legal saga being fought by five home owners who bought into an NT government-backed affordable housing scheme in the Darwin satellite city of Palmerston in 2013.
One of the defective houses in Bellamack. (ABC News: Ian Redfearn)
Not long after moving in to the homes, residents began to notice issues, including water leaks, poor drainage on balconies and tiles that lifted and cracked.
Multiple engineering reports into the Bellamack houses, commissioned by the NT government, have confirmed serious safety risks to the homes due to the defects, as did the NTCAT ruling made last year.
In dismissing Mr Milatos's appeal, Justice Jenny Blokland said the NTCAT's decision was valid.
"To suggest NTCAT should have transferred proceedings to the Local Court to allow an apportionment proceeding would undermine the purpose and intent of the regulatory regime," her decision read.
Damage to one of the defective homes. (ABC News: Ian Redfearn)
One of the home owners, Jesse Williams Hook, told the ABC after the decision was handed down that Mr Milatos's appeal loss "definitely doesn't feel like a win" for the home owners.
"It's sort of back to where we were before, trying to seek compensation, really," he said.
"Don't know where that's going to end up, but it doesn't look good."
Mr Milatos, whose building registration expired in 2021, has previously claimed he was living on a pension with limited funds available to pay the compensation.
"At the end of the day, [Mr] Milatos has to pay the bill, and getting him to pay seems like it's going to be a mission," Mr Williams Hook said.
"If he files for bankruptcy, he doesn't have to foot the bill, does he?
"And we're still left without any rectification."
The homes were built as part of an affordable housing scheme backed by the NT government. (ABC News: Ian Redfearn)
Despite the affordable housing scheme having been backed by the NT government, a bureaucratic change which happened during the homes' construction has left owners unable to seek recourse from the government.
The government has continued to rely on an NT building rule change — a switch from a former insurance-style scheme to a fidelity fund that took place in 2013 — as its key reason for not taking action to demolish the surviving defected-homes in Bellamack.
Mr Milatos has a chance to challenge the latest decision in the NT Court of Appeal.