Building Warranty Inspection
We understand that the thrill of moving into your newly built home can be quickly dashed by finding disconcerting defects later.
You can relax, however, knowing that you continue to be supported by ABIS Building Warranty Inspection and Queensland’s Home Warranty Insurance Scheme. According to the Rectification of Building Work Policy, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) may direct your building contractor to rectify defective building work if:
- structural defective building work is within 6 years and 3 months of the building work being completed;
- non-structural defective building work is within 12 months of the building work being completed.
You must lodge a formal complaint with the QBCC as soon as possible, but no later than within 12 months of becoming aware of the defects. This does not extend to manufacturers’ product warranties such as white goods”.
‘Defective’ or ‘Non-Structural’
What comprises “defective” and “non-structural”? According to Rectification of Building Work:
“Defective building work means building work that is faulty or unsatisfactory which:
- does not comply with the Building Act 1975, Building Code of Australia or an applicable Australian Standard;
- involves the use of a manufactured product where that product has been used, constructed or installed in a way that does not comply with the product manufacturer’s instructions”.
And in particular,
“Non-structural defective building work means defective building work (other than structural defective building work or residential construction work causing subsidence) that is faulty or unsatisfactory because:
- it doesn’t meet a reasonable standard of construction or finish expected of a competent holder of a contractor’s licence of the relevant class;
- it has caused a settling in the period defect in a new building such that the building work that does not perform at a standard reasonably expected of work carried out by a competent holder of a contractor’s licence of the relevant class”.
To find out more about rectification post building, just go to the “Rectification of Building Work Policy” Fact Sheet on Queensland Building and Construction Commission’s (QBCC) website.
Building Warranty Inspection
It is imperative to schedule your ABIS Building Warranty Inspection as a follow-up 11 months after your Building Handover Inspections and within the QBCC’s 12-month non-structural building defects warranty period.
Think of it as your second building handover inspection or new home inspection because we will conduct the inspection with the same focus upon detail, using the same checklists to produce the same comprehensive report. This allows us to specifically look for any changes which have occurred in the interim.
These changes are not uncommon in natural building materials as a home settles over time, where a drying frame may warp causing minor hairline cracking in an attached wall and ceiling sheeting and cornices. Similarly, slab settlement may cause minor cracking and drumminess in tiles. Being builders, we are familiar with what’s minor and to be expected and can explain our findings to you in context so you’ll be less alarmed.
Our Qualified Building Inspectors are independent and builders themselves – your builder is more likely to take your rectification request seriously when it is backed up by our detailed Building Warranty Report.
Builders also appreciate ABIS’ Warranty Reports because as an independent professional quality check it gives them a chance to ensure that you’re completely satisfied with their work. Happy clients are good for their business! And if all else fails, then you’ve got great ammunition for any case you put before the QBCC.
The bottom line is, having an ABIS Building Warranty Inspection is important because you only get one opportunity to get your builder to fix all those annoying non-structural defects before your warranty protection runs out!
