Ignorance, moves towards self-certification and self-regulation, and simple greed have all played a part in the calamities that have made building, buying and renovating homes such a lottery over the past few years.
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Unique to Canberra, catastrophes have included the Mr Fluffy debacle which is still being played out and an alarming number of high-profile building company failures.
As recently as 2014 asbestos-contaminated plaster board was brought into the ACT by a business owner wanting to save a few dollars on his shop renovation.
On that occasion the day was saved by an eagle-eyed builder who, on handling the Chinese-made product falsely labelled as Australian-compliant, felt it just wasn't "right".
There is an alarming synergy between that incident and the much more widespread issue with Infinity- and Olsent-branded electrical wiring which was sold in the ACT between 2011 and 2013.
Tens of thousands of kilometres of the stuff, also falsely labelled as Australian compliant, were sold across the country with 2000 kilometres used in NSW and at least 162 kilometres in the ACT.
In an attempt to save, at best, a few cents a metre, an unscrupulous manufacturer used a cheap plastic insulation which degrades as it ages and is now at a point in its life where it can crack if disturbed. This can, in turn, lead to fires and electrocution.
The cable debacle is believed to affect thousands of Canberra homes and is a cause for concern on a number of levels.
The first is the need for a thorough understanding of how Australian authorities apparently took a private company's word that their product was safe.
The second is who pays to rectify the situation given the company behind the scam has now folded?
While some suppliers, including Masters, have said they will cover the cost of remediation for product sold by them, others are understood to be less enthusiastic.
The third is the mixed message being sent by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which has said only wiring "installed in accessible areas or near heat sources" needs to be replaced so long as a sticker is placed in the meter box.
This sits oddly with the ACCC's statement "Infinity and Olsent-branded Infinity cables failed to meet mandatory electrical safety standards due to poor quality insulation".
That suggests the product is not "fit for purpose" under Australian Consumer Law and that homeowners who had it installed by an electrical contractor should be entitled to have every last scrap replaced.
Most alarmingly, although more than a year has elapsed since the recall began, many electrical contractors are dragging their heels on contacting clients to alert them to the potential dangers.
While it is understandable many people would be reluctant to act given they know this going to cost time and money, such delays achieve nothing.
If a fire occurs and the installer has taken no action to remedy the problem, they run the risk of being held accountable.
Given the severity of the charges that would arise from deaths or serious injuries, this is a risk nobody should take.
