Builder 550 days into a build, and little progress on site

hammerthis · Sep 11, 2023 11:11 am

Hey All,

We're building in Melbourne, Victoria.

We are 552 days into our build and the build has come to an almost standstill.

Since lockup was paid in April, we've seen electrical rough in, and some plumbing remediation works.

So in 145 days, I'd estimate we've had trades on site for a total of 15 days.

What are my options to take legal action against the builder?

Has anyone else faced similar issues?

I note that BGC has a class action against them, so it sounds like a builder can be taken to court for not taking action in building.

We have a Facebook group with other people building with the same builder, and some are facing similar challenges.

Looking for advice on options for anyone who has taken the suffered the same fate.

We've got a DBDRV case waiting to be addressed, I understand that will get us a "certificate of conciliation" which we can then use at VCAT.

Anyway just looking for advice from anyone who might be able to help.

building-expert · Sep 11, 2023 11:48 am

Legal action? Ask a lawyer

The reality is that at lockup the builder has 60% of your money including all of the profit. With that gone 40% is not enough to finish the job, likely thats why you are not seeing action.

hammerthis · Sep 13, 2023 9:35 am

next question would be, are there any good construction lawyers that can be recommended?

is it worthwhile banding together with other impacted parties?

ponzutwo · Sep 13, 2023 11:35 am

hammerthis

is it worthwhile banding together with other impacted parties?

not unless you like more delays and a good chance of scaring the builder into liquidation instead of scaring them into getting your house built.

building-expert · Sep 13, 2023 1:30 pm

If the builder is in liquidation it will trigger How insurance claim, that may be enough to finish the job.

ponzutwo · Sep 13, 2023 1:55 pm

building-expert

If the builder is in liquidation it will trigger How insurance claim, that may be enough to finish the job.

if they paid the insurance

building-expert · Sep 13, 2023 3:41 pm

In Victoria a certificate of HOW insurance is noted on the building permit. No insurance, no permit.

hammerthis · Sep 13, 2023 4:45 pm

We have verified that insurance with VMIA is current and present on our build.

We can not speak to the financial state of the builder, and speculation doesn't help us or the builder.

ponzutwo · Sep 13, 2023 4:48 pm

hammerthis

and speculation doesn't help us or the builder.

you must be new to the internet