MrsRose
Hi Andy,
Firstly, your HIA contract looks to be slightly different (at least with respect to numbering) - ours is HIA NHC NSW residential Sept 08. Our HIA clause 30 relates to liquidated damages... anyway.
We understand progress payments have nothing to do with disputes or defects and must be paid upon substantial completion of a stage. Realistically, it is only possible to dispute the completion of a progress stage (50% chance of success ie yes or no) to defer payment of a progress stage. Our contract has a section for explanatory notes, that states "payment does not mean that the owner accepts the work is done in accordance with the contract. The owner can not hold any money back on a progress claim". In our contract, only practical completion refers to deferment of payment upon dispute and this must be handled in writing.
As for your reference to knowing whether defects are fixed or not, we would consider that this must be handled by requesting confirmation in writing once fixed or through the dispute resolution process. If you believe that the defect is sufficiently important and the builder is not forthcoming with adequate confirmation (after you have notified them in writing) we can only recommend filing with the Dept of Fair Trading (or state equivalent). We have had reasonable success with our builder at getting confirmation (usually in the form of a subsequent site visit) to ensure that noted defects have been corrected before further building work takes place. We have arranged with the builder to perform a site visit/inspection at the completion of each stage (taking photos of defects), and then advised them in writing of noted defects and cited contract plans/tender/Manufacturers Instructions/Building Code of Australia or Australian Standards where necessary.
We have the benefit that FIL is a builder. If you don't feel confident in identifying true defects there are options to employ an engineer/private certifier/building inspector to assist. We have found that just because it looks questionable doesn't mean that it is a structural defect.
Hope this helps,
Mrs Rose [and Mr Rose]
Firstly, your HIA contract looks to be slightly different (at least with respect to numbering) - ours is HIA NHC NSW residential Sept 08. Our HIA clause 30 relates to liquidated damages... anyway.
We understand progress payments have nothing to do with disputes or defects and must be paid upon substantial completion of a stage. Realistically, it is only possible to dispute the completion of a progress stage (50% chance of success ie yes or no) to defer payment of a progress stage. Our contract has a section for explanatory notes, that states "payment does not mean that the owner accepts the work is done in accordance with the contract. The owner can not hold any money back on a progress claim". In our contract, only practical completion refers to deferment of payment upon dispute and this must be handled in writing.
As for your reference to knowing whether defects are fixed or not, we would consider that this must be handled by requesting confirmation in writing once fixed or through the dispute resolution process. If you believe that the defect is sufficiently important and the builder is not forthcoming with adequate confirmation (after you have notified them in writing) we can only recommend filing with the Dept of Fair Trading (or state equivalent). We have had reasonable success with our builder at getting confirmation (usually in the form of a subsequent site visit) to ensure that noted defects have been corrected before further building work takes place. We have arranged with the builder to perform a site visit/inspection at the completion of each stage (taking photos of defects), and then advised them in writing of noted defects and cited contract plans/tender/Manufacturers Instructions/Building Code of Australia or Australian Standards where necessary.
We have the benefit that FIL is a builder. If you don't feel confident in identifying true defects there are options to employ an engineer/private certifier/building inspector to assist. We have found that just because it looks questionable doesn't mean that it is a structural defect.
Hope this helps,
Mrs Rose [and Mr Rose]
Can anyone help with the following:
1. Our contract has a HIA copyright date of 2001. We signed in May 2009 in Victoria (not sure if state makes a difference). Someone was saying that their contract was a HIA 2002 contract but that there is a more current 2004 contract. Is it legal for the builder to use an older contract?
2. We are nearing the final inspection. The windows have been cleaned. Most of the windows are very badly scratched. How do we know if it should be replaced?
3. Is there a document which lists what we should look for and what we can reasonably expect to be fixed by the builder?
Wondering