Building or renovating? - NSW Fair Trading
Building or renovating? - NSW Fair Trading
Building or renovating? - NSW Fair Trading
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Are you thinking of building a new home?<br />
Maybe you’re about to renovate, extend<br />
<strong>or</strong> repair your existing home.<br />
You should not rush into any home building<br />
<strong>or</strong> renovation w<strong>or</strong>k without understanding<br />
your rights and responsibilities. Contact<br />
<strong>NSW</strong> <strong>Fair</strong> <strong>Trading</strong> f<strong>or</strong> independent inf<strong>or</strong>mation<br />
about home building and <strong>renovating</strong>.<br />
Choosing a builder <strong>or</strong> tradesperson<br />
To protect yourself against inferi<strong>or</strong> building practices, only<br />
deal with a builder <strong>or</strong> tradesperson who is licensed by <strong>Fair</strong><br />
<strong>Trading</strong>. Any person who carries out residential building<br />
w<strong>or</strong>k w<strong>or</strong>th over $1,000 in labour and materials content<br />
without an appropriate licence, is breaking the law and<br />
could be prosecuted.<br />
Specialist tradespeople who carry out electrical wiring,<br />
plumbing, draining, gasfitting, air conditioning and<br />
refrigeration w<strong>or</strong>k (except plug-in appliances) must be<br />
licensed, regardless of the cost of the w<strong>or</strong>k.<br />
To check the licence details of any builder <strong>or</strong> tradesperson,<br />
go to www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au <strong>or</strong> call 13 32 20.<br />
Insurances f<strong>or</strong> your protection<br />
Builders and tradespeople should have various insurance<br />
policies in place bef<strong>or</strong>e w<strong>or</strong>k on your home can start. If the<br />
cost of the labour and materials in your project exceeds<br />
$20,000 the builder <strong>or</strong> tradesperson must have home<br />
warranty insurance and you must be given a certificate<br />
of home warranty insurance bef<strong>or</strong>e w<strong>or</strong>k commences.<br />
They should also have contract w<strong>or</strong>ks insurance,<br />
professional indemnity insurance, public liability insurance<br />
and w<strong>or</strong>kers compensation insurance. Contact <strong>Fair</strong> <strong>Trading</strong><br />
f<strong>or</strong> m<strong>or</strong>e inf<strong>or</strong>mation.<br />
Get it in writing<br />
Bef<strong>or</strong>e you start any building <strong>or</strong> renovation w<strong>or</strong>k over<br />
$1,000 (including materials) make sure you have a written<br />
contract with your chosen builder <strong>or</strong> tradesperson.<br />
The contract is the most imp<strong>or</strong>tant piece of<br />
documentation relating to your building w<strong>or</strong>k. Residential<br />
building w<strong>or</strong>k w<strong>or</strong>th between $1,001 and $5,000 requires<br />
a written ‘small job’ contract with minimum basic<br />
inf<strong>or</strong>mation, while building jobs w<strong>or</strong>th m<strong>or</strong>e than $5,000<br />
must be covered by m<strong>or</strong>e extensive written contracts.<br />
Read the contract carefully bef<strong>or</strong>e you sign it. Don’t sign<br />
the contract if you don’t understand it <strong>or</strong> if you think<br />
something is missing.
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