With leaky apartments, legal stoushes and lax regulations, Canberra is at risk of developing a reputation as an apartment buyer's nightmare and a developer's dream.
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And yet, in what looks to be a classic case of putting the horse before the cart, the ACT government has recently announced it is forging ahead with plans to accommodate an extra 37,000 dwellings along the light rail corridor.
Surely we should make sure our regulatory system is up to the job before kicking-off another massive round of expansion in the territory.
There are many specific concerns about the regulation of the construction industry in the ACT, particularly in relation to the way apartments are designed and built.
Engineers are concerned about the level of scrutiny applied when a building is designed, as well as the lack of a registration scheme for members of their profession.
Builders are concerned about the quality of some construction work within the territory as well as other issues such as builder training and insurance.
And buyers are concerned about the mammoth and costly legal process that awaits them if they decide to pursue rectification work through the legal system.
There is widespread agreement among builders and buyers that these and other concerns must be ironed out before the next phase of development in the territory, lest we get stuck with an even bigger batch of problematic apartment blocks.
Two of the most worrying defects to come to light in recent years are apartment buildings with waterproofing issues and corrosive leaks, and buildings constructed without sufficient regard for fire safety.
No apartment building should be springing a leak within the first few years of its construction.
With regards to buildings not considered up to scratch on fire safety measures, engineering experts believe the small number of issues discovered in the ACT to date may just be the tip of the iceberg.
Neither fire safety nor waterproofing present easy or cheap fixes once detected. It is far easier to focus on getting the building right the first time around.
The ACT government has not been deaf to concerns within the construction industry, and to its credit, released a paper in 2016 containing 43 recommendations to improve the ACT's regulatory robustness.
It has also recently announced that it is going to take another look at certain aspects of building regulation.
This review cannot shy away from the tricky issues, nor can the government afford for it to become another reactionary, box-ticking exercise.
There is a growing wariness among the construction sector that reforms have either stalled or been swept into the "too-hard basket".
Engineers have been waiting since 2012 for the establishment of a professional register that will help to ensure the territory's practitioners are up to scratch.
No one disputes that, as Canberra continues to grow, we must look to new ways to meet housing demand.
That said, we need to make sure we prioritise quality just as much as quantity, and that our regulations are equal to the task.
As the old saying goes, you cannot put a great building on a weak foundation.
