Is your job valued over $5,000 including GST?
Did you sign a Contract and receive a copy of the “Consumer Building Guide”?
Did you know at ALL Works over $5,000 must be completed under a Small Works Contract? And that you – the consumer, MUST LEGALLY be provided with a copy of the “Consumer Building Guide”?
And did you know that ALL works over $20,000 (including GST) are required, by law, to be completed under a Small Works Over $20,000 Contract – AND it is compulsory for the builder to provide HBCF Insurance – previously known as Home Owners Warranty?
As outlined in the Home Building Act 1989, all works valued above $5,000 must have a written Contract signed by both parties.
The NSW Department of Fair Trading provides various templates for builders to use to fulfil their legal obligations.
We use the template provided by the ‘Department of Fair Trading’ for jobs $5,000-$20,000. These works DO NOT require additional insurance, yet are accompanied by the Consumer Building Guide (CBG). The Consumer Building Guide describes the statutory warranties provided to consumers and also recommendations on how to resolve issues, should they arise. Signing a contract – generates a sense of trust and transparency between the contractor (us) and the owners (you). We are both responsible to ensure we reach a positive result.
For our BIG jobs – over $20,000 we use the HIA (Housing Industry Association) template provided to its members. This template allows us to attach the required certificate of Insurance (HBCF), to set out the works & payment schedule and of course – includes the Consumer Building Guide, with a checklist – to ensure you’ve done your research!
The Consumer Building Guide
Get your copy of the Consumer Building Guide here:
Contracts and payments:
All contracts must be in writing. The two main contract types are:
● fixed price or lump sum – where the builder or tradesperson agrees upfront to a fixed amount for the whole job. Unforeseen changes during construction may affect the final cost and are issued separately as a Variation.
● cost plus contract – where there is no guaranteed final cost for the job (often this contract is used where the project’s nature prevents the final cost from being calculated). The consumer repays the builder for verified direct and indirect costs and fees at regular intervals. It is good practice for the builder to give a non-binding estimate before starting and track costs with you against the project’s budgeted estimate.
Here at Premier Pointing – we use the “Fixed Price” system with variations. Our quotes contain as much detail as possible, based upon our initial inspection. We include our Provisional Sums, priced per item, with an estimated ‘Contingency Amount’ if we foresee additional works will be required.
The final cost of our contract often varies for multi-storey buildings. We are unable to adequately assess the brickwork from a distance, such as on the ground. Once we erect our scaffold – we can closely inspect the area and submit our variation quote.
We’ll chat with you about the likelihood prior to starting the works – so it won’t be too much of a shock for you!
Common traps and tricks
Beware of:
- an extremely low quote compared with others. This may indicate the job’s quality is being compromised, or that the builder may not fully understand what is required
- `sales pitches ́ putting pressure on you to sign a contract quickly to avoid a price increase
- a builder who recommends you get an owner-builder permit while they organise all the building work. The builder may be trying to avoid responsibility and may not have the right kind of licence or Home Building Compensation Fund certificate.
Home Building Compensation Fund
The HBCF is set up to protect owners should the builder/contractor become insolvent during the Statutory Warranty period. This period is 6 years for major defects and 2 years for minor defects. Read about how iCare provides HBCF insurance to customers of their approved builders here:
https://www.icare.nsw.gov.au/builders-and-homeowners/builders-and-distributors/what-we-do/
Please do not hesitate to contact us if your building, your colleagues or even your neighbours home – needs some REMEDIAL BRICKWORK TLC!
We provide FREE QUOTES.
We are fully INSURED, COMPLIANT and LICENSED (of course!)
Call us today on 0450 942 080 or Get in touch
