The owners of an apartment block in a Melbourne suburb have been awarded a little more than 10 per cent of the compensation they sought for defects in the building.

In a case of what has been described as “unfortunate circumstances”, the owners’ corporation of a 26-unit apartment block at Malvern East sought damages from builder Devakon in the case brought before the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT).

The owners had sought $1 million from the builder, despite the builder having ceased work on the site after a major dispute with the developer partway through the build.