Unlicensed builder
Home building case study
Some consumers unknowingly do business with unlicensed builders. Consumers can bring a dispute with an unlicensed builder to the CTTT, but the CTTT can only make orders for the payment of money to enable the work to be rectified by a licensed builder.
Water was leaking from the upstairs balcony of a home into the dining room below. The home owners engaged a local builder to repair the cracks in the ceiling caused by the water damage and to repair the balcony to prevent further water leaks. The builder did the work, but the home owners found that the ceiling still leaked and new cracks had appeared.
In accordance with the Home Building Act 1989 all home building disputes must first be referred to Fair Trading to attempt to resolve the dispute. In the course of this process it was found that the owners had used an unlicensed builder.
The owners then lodged an application to the CTTT seeking orders for the payment of $6000 based on quotations received to rectify the work received from two other builders. When the matter came before the CTTT, the parties agreed during conciliation that the unlicensed builder would rectify the work.
However the CTTT cannot make orders for an unlicensed builder to carry out work. Orders were made instead for the unlicensed builder to pay the home owners the $6000 sought so they could engage a licensed builder to do the work.