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Building defects
If you are concerned that building work is defective, incomplete or different to your contract:
- discuss the issue with your builder (also called a building contractor) in a calm and business-like way. Show the builder what you believe the problem to be
- send a letter to the builder, confirming your conversation and agreed actions
- if necessary, engage an independent building consultant to inspect the work and ensure you have a reasonable case
- keep a diary of all conversations you have with the builder and take photographs of the work in question
- keep copies of all documents.
If you do not get a satisfactory response, place your complaint in writing:
- state clearly what you want and when you require the response
- send this to the builder by registered mail.
For free assistance and advice about defective work when building, renovating, extending or repairing a house, contact us on 1300 55 75 59.
Delays in building projects
If you are concerned that building is delayed, we recommend you contact us on 1300 55 75 59 in the first instance.
Whether you are building a new house, adding an extension to your home, or renovating your bathroom or kitchen, you may need assistance to calculate whether the project is delayed.
About the start date
You will need to know the start date of the building period. By law, a domestic building contract for work valued at more than $5000 must contain either:
- the date work is to start
- how the start date will be determined (for example, 21 days from obtaining the building permit). If the date is not specified, the contract must also include a statement that the builder will do everything reasonably possible to ensure work will start as soon as possible.
The contract may also state whether you had to supply any information for the project to start (for example, financial approval or ‘evidence of financial capacity’).
The ‘start date’ does not necessarily refer to the date construction begins on your site. For example:
- under your contract, your builder may be obtaining the building and planning permits for you.
- your contract may say the start date is 21 days after the builder gets the last permit.
Allowances for delays in your contract
By law, the builder must make a reasonable allowance for delays due to:
- inclement weather, taking into account the season when work will be carried out
- foreseeable factors, such as:
- public holidays, rostered days off and weekends
- breaks in continuity of work (for example, time to let the slab cure)
- other delays due to the nature of the work.
The builder must state in your contract how many days have been allowed for each type of delay. This is outlined in section 32 of the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995.
If it is not possible to estimate how long a delay is likely to be, the builder must identify the cause of delay in the contract and state that it is not possible to estimate. This is to make sure everyone involved is clear about what may delay the project.
Reasonable delays
Delays may be reasonable if:
- they arise from circumstances beyond the builder’s control
- the builder could not have foreseen the cause of delay when you entered the building contract.
Delays due to foundation issues
You should not have to pay extra to deal with problems that the builder should have identified from the foundation data. For more information, view our Foundations page.
Building disputes
If you cannot resolve a dispute with your builder, contact us on 1300 55 75 59 for free advice and conciliation.
- If there is evidence of defective building work, we may arrange technical inspections by a Building Commission inspector to assist conciliation.
- If there is evidence a builder has broken the law, we can take action against them, including seeking redress for affected consumers.
- We may suggest you take your building dispute to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal if you cannot reach agreement through voluntary conciliation.
Fence disputes
For free information and advice about preventing or handling a dispute about fencing, contact the Dispute Settlement Centre Victoria on 1800 658 528 (toll free for regional callers).
Building a fence in Victoria is governed by the Fences Act 1968, which you can find on the Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents website.
For more information about building matters, contact us on 1300 55 75 59.
Last updated: 20/02/2012