Chermside unit owners have been left to contend with severe damp, wall cracking and bulging after the Queensland Civil and Administration Tribunal found it would be "unfair" to direct the builder to rectify the issues.

The body corporate for HQ Apartments, on Playfield Street, took Jadecorp to the Queensland Building and Construction Commission after the defects were discovered, seeking rectification work to be undertaken.

The QUT report was commissioned by the state government in a bid to modernise the Act. Credit:Google Street View

But the commission ruled against the body corporate, saying it would be unfair to the builder to be made to fix the problems, which arose in October 2010 – 19 months after the building was completed.

A competent builder, it was found, would not have been able to detect the defect.