SERIAL building industry shonk Daniel Roberts has been suspended from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) following a series of complaints from a Hunter resident.
Wallsend-based Roberts, who promotes himself as a quantity surveyor, licensed builder and property developer, has been suspended from the international professional body for nine months.
A RICS disciplinary panel hearing in London made the decision following a series of complaints from Gillieston Heights resident Phillip Kapeller.
The Newcastle Herald understands the matter will be revisited following the outcome of a hearing in Maitland Local Court next month where Roberts and his business partner Tellakula Gowri Shankar Shashanth, 41, of North Lambton, have both pleaded not guilty to larceny.
The pair are accused of stealing property valued at $8000, including two split-system air-conditioners, tiles, lights and freestanding baths from an unfinished building site in Maitland.
According to a court attendance notice, police will allege the items were owned by Mr Kapeller.
The Newcastle Herald has previously reported on a long and complicated history between the two men and Mr Kapeller and his family.
Mr Kapeller and his wife Rachael Cesnick saved for years to build their dream home in James Leslie Drive at Gillieston Heights. Last year, after more than 12 court appearances, the couple won a case against the company responsible for the build, BH Australia Constructions, previously known as Blissful Constructions.
NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) Senior Member David Goldstein ordered BH Australia Constructions to pay the couple $191,366 "immediately" for incomplete and defective works.
Roberts and Shankar are former shareholders of the company and Shankar's wife Aarthi Dhandayutham is the sole director.
In May, Roberts became the first person in the state to be found personally liable for defects, damage and theft at a NSW building site in a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Under new laws introduced last year, described by the NSW government as the 'biggest shake-up in building laws in our state's history' following Sydney's Opal Tower fiasco, any person who carries out construction work has a duty to exercise reasonable care to avoid economic loss caused by defects and negligence.
Justice James Stevenson found the fast-talking, BMW-driving Roberts, personally liable for defects, damage and theft at a Jesmond development site estimated to be worth almost $900,000.
Roberts has lodged an appeal against the ruling and it is expected to be heard in the Sydney Court of Appeal next month.
Roberts, who is not a licensed builder, was the construction manager for DSD Builders, a company controlled by his then fiance Angela Sendjirdjian that is now in liquidation, which was contracted to build the boarding house.
But following a disagreement about defects, which included the internal walls being lined before a frame inspection was carried out by a certifier, a dispute broke out about payment.
A meeting was called on site and developer Jeff Stokes arrived at the Jesmond property to find three men dressed in "bikie t-shirts", one brandishing "brass knuckles", demanding Roberts be paid $100,000.
It was alleged Roberts owed them money and was making repayments from the proceeds of the job at Jesmond.
Because payment had been withheld by the developers due to the defects dispute, the men wearing "bikie t-shirts" hadn't been paid.
The court heard the development was riddled with defects, estimated to cost $586,000 to fix, including an exposed unsupported pier footing, frame built on sewer pipes, brick retaining wall not waterproofed, non-existent termite protection system and black mould on timber frames.
Justice Stevenson also found that after the contract was terminated with DSD Builders, Roberts took to deliberately trashing the property and stealing building materials, the bill estimated at $300,000.
Sewer pipes were blocked with concrete, a circular saw used to cut through structural beams and the bathroom waterproofing was deliberately damaged.
Holes were drilled through walls, plumbing, external cladding and the roof.
Roberts also stole the internal stairs, skylights and almost every window and door from the property.
