Browse Forums Building Standards; Getting It Right! 1 Mar 29, 2016 6:02 pm Our house has been built in the wrong position, we are at PCI stage and have noticed that the whole house is 30cm over from where it should be. We only noticed because the neighbors had the fence put up, at first we thought the fence was in the wrong spot, but we have now checked against the survey markers (which were nailed into the bitumen so can't have been moved). It also means that the set back no longer meets council requirements. Any one have experience with this? We are obviously in a pickle now; 2 weeks out from what should have been handover! I assume the builder will have to rectify the setback issue, but what kind of compensation can we expect as the house was contracted to be built in the correct location, and this will cut our already small backyard into a tiny yard. We will also be stuck paying rent + mortgage for longer! Re: House built 30cm to the right 2Mar 30, 2016 2:39 am Why havent you asked your builder.? Check with them and council, you should get to the bottom of it pretty quick. DO NOT HAND OVER ANY FINAL PAYMENTS till it is resolved to your satisfaction. Re: House built 30cm to the right 3Mar 30, 2016 4:51 am It may be fairly easily to prove that builder has erred in set out but to prove a case for monetary compensation may be much more difficult. If you can't you get nothing. So your backyard is going to be smaller, how do you put a dollar value to that? However you could try to get some concessions from the builder. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: House built 30cm to the right 4Mar 30, 2016 11:29 am We have spoken to the builder and they are taking it fairly seriously. The biggest problem is that if the set out doesn't meet council requirements (and if an exemption cannot be granted) the wall on that side will need to be moved. This would significantly effect the house value, and seriously delay handover. I understand that going to court to get compensation is not ideal (and unlikely to be fruitful, given how difficult it is to prove loss in value) however we think we have a fairly good negotiating position directly with the builder. I doubt that they would want to go to court over something like this. Just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and what was the outcome? Re: House built 30cm to the right 5Mar 30, 2016 3:59 pm our house was nearly a metre out from side boundary we allowed 6.5m for future garage on plans they built 5.8m from side boundary the builder refused to do anything about it at slab stage HGF said it wasnt a structural issue so nothing they could do Re: House built 30cm to the right 6Mar 30, 2016 4:10 pm I have now spoken to the council who informed me that in it's current position the house does not meet council regulations, and is now too close to the neighbouring house so that even if an exemption was granted we would need to: 1) get the neighbours permission, 2) add some kind of screening to our windows so as not to impose on the neighbours privacy and 3) modify the roof, and the walls to meet the fire safety codes. The council also informed me that if an exemption was denied, or was not applied for within a few weeks the council would be forced to issue a building order which would force the builder to act (and potentially demolish the house). He also stated that we have the right to refuse any potential 'fix' the builder proposes that is outside the original contract terms, and we have the right to ask for the defect to be corrected, even if that means the builder demolishing and then rebuilding the house from scratch. The builder were supposed to get back to us at lunch time, but called and told us they needed more time, they have promised to call by 4.30pm. I am investigating hiring a solicitor for advice, and am reading through the fine print of our contract, along with the Building Contracts Act. Definitely not what we needed 2 weeks out from handover! Re: House built 30cm to the right 7Mar 30, 2016 4:29 pm Bummer! Just when you got excited about moving in. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: House built 30cm to the right 8Mar 30, 2016 4:33 pm Omg im so sorry this is happening. I have never heard of this happening to you. I would be absolutely fuming with the builder if it was me and especially knowing you will have to rent longer if home needs to be rebuilt. Not cool at all 😳 Re: House built 30cm to the right 9Mar 30, 2016 5:00 pm If anyone could PM me a good solicitor who deals with building contract issues that would be great! I thank my lucky stars that this was picked up before handover, although fuming that it was missed by the builders surveyor, the council surveyor and our inspector! Re: House built 30cm to the right 10Mar 31, 2016 6:50 pm Contact the building surveyor first then you should contact the victorian building authority. Don't sign off on the pci as you may remain eligible for liquidated damages, which should contribute to your rental. Re: House built 30cm to the right 11Mar 31, 2016 7:17 pm I'm in Perth, so I have contacted the relevant authority here to ask advice. We had a meeting with the builder today: we will have to change our huge beautiful dining room window to smaller windows which is devastating. Even then the neighbours would have to agree and I really wouldn't blame them if they say no! The builder is talking about throwing in a few things for 'free' like window shutters, some paving and a bit of tiling. At the moment we are feeling like we can live with the alterations and the loss of useable space (even though it is soo disappointing) because we have our second child due in 23 weeks time, but not without a decent recognition from the builder of what has been lost. We are entitled to the house that they were contracted to build and if we aren't properly recognized for the loss suffered then we will have no choice but to enforce that right. Re: House built 30cm to the right 13Mar 31, 2016 8:05 pm Yes 48 cm is a large set out error and it seems everyone at the wheel has been asleep. For you it is a huge disappointment and rightly so. I hope that you can live with it and get sufficient concessions from the builder. You have not mentioned that you had independent inspections during your build and if you did error of this size should have been picked up at pre slab stage.You should consider having independent inspections next time you build. I did a pre slab yesterday and found they missed sink waste for island bench, so early this morning builder was frantically doing it before concrete pour. Foremost Building Expert in Australia,assisting with building problems/disputes, building stage inspections,pre-contract review advice for peace of mind 200 blogs http://www.buildingexpert.net.au/blog Re: House built 30cm to the right 15Apr 01, 2016 2:05 pm Kei We had also paid for a survey that the builder has now informed us did not occur. Obviously we'll be asking for a refund on that! Re: House built 30cm to the right 16Apr 01, 2016 2:09 pm They were supposed to get another certified survey done after the footings were poured as the size of the blocks in my area (inner-city) are small, so it's important that they are correct! This survey was never booked or conducted, however we were charged for it. Definitely a contributing factor, no way a surveyor would have missed this error. Re: House built 30cm to the right 17Apr 01, 2016 3:06 pm Holy crap 48cm that is alot of space to lose. I would be ** and dont just settle cause you feel bad, they stuffed it up and that is alot of space. Makes me angry as hell just thinking about it Re: House built 30cm to the right 18Apr 01, 2016 3:13 pm Our block is only 11.5m across so the 48cm is HUGE! I am so so angry, and will certainly not be settling for less than what is reasonable. If the builder refuses to meet this, then I will put my big girl pants on and request a rebuild (as per my contractual right). At the end of the day a knock down rebuild is going to cost them in the ball park of $300-350k. They can negotiate with us a much less substantial loss, or the can suffer the consequences. I still have moments of rage where I feel like telling them to go eat a bag of ****, but I know that isn't really in anyone's best interests. Re: House built 30cm to the right 20Apr 02, 2016 10:38 am It doesn't say what the penalty is for delay in handover - just that they have 250 days to complete the work (there are caveats about weather, supply issues etc). It is a standard HIA building contract. 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