When a Wollert builder will not fix handover defects
Steps to take in Victoria when handover defects are disputed or ignored, from written notice to the BPC dispute resolution service and VCAT.
In short: A refusal at handover is a process problem before it is a legal one. Here is the order to work through it in Victoria, and what evidence you need at each step.
Separate the three kinds of refusal
Builders push back for different reasons and each needs a different answer. Some say the item is within tolerance. Some say it was never in the contract. Some simply stop responding. The first is answered with the Guide to Standards and Tolerances 2015, the second with the contract and the inclusions schedule, and the third with written notice and a deadline.
Write the notice properly
A useful notice lists each item with its location, describes what was observed rather than what you assume caused it, refers to the contract clause, plan detail or standard it departs from, and asks for a rectification date. Attach photographs. Send it by email so the date is fixed. Vague complaints are easy to defer, and specific ones are not.
Do not pay the final claim to make it go away
Final payment is the strongest leverage most owners will ever have. Once it is paid, rectification depends on goodwill and process rather than on money the builder still wants. Any withholding has to be handled within the contract, so read the payment clause and take advice before you decide, but do not release funds simply to avoid an awkward conversation.
The Victorian escalation path in order
Raise it with the builder in writing. If that fails, apply to the Building and Plumbing Commission's dispute resolution service, formerly DBDRV, which is designed to resolve domestic building disputes without a hearing. If that does not resolve it, the matter goes to the VCAT Building and Property List. Skipping the earlier steps rarely speeds anything up.
Where Domestic Building Insurance fits
Domestic Building Insurance covers the owner where the builder has died, disappeared or become insolvent, and where the contract required it. It is not a general defects service and it is not the first call for a builder who is simply slow. Check your certificate for the cover period, because the trigger and the timeframes matter if a builder later fails.
The report you need depends on where you are heading
A defect investigation report is written for the owner and the builder. It sets out what was observed and why it departs from the standard, and it is the right document for negotiation. It is not a tribunal document. If the matter is heading to VCAT you need an expert witness report prepared to the tribunal's requirements, which is a different scope and a different format.
Written by the Owner Inspections team from inspections carried out in Wollert. Licensed building practitioners, Building & Plumbing Commission registration CDB-U 53425.
