5 Things You Need to Know about Building Contracts
Building a house is one of the biggest transactions you will ever enter into in your life. This is certainly a time when property lawyers need to be involved so that the project can be completed to your satisfaction. Let’s face it, your home is probably the most valuable thing that you will ever own and building a new home is an exciting event in your life, so it pays to take every precaution and make sure you get what you want.
Entering into a contract with your builder, whilst exciting, is a very serious business and it is important not to get carried away in the thrill of it all without making sure you have detailed all of your requirements.
Even if you don’t obtain specialist legal advice you should at least know a few things about building contracts before you go any further.
- Your builder should always hold a current builder’s or contractor’s licence, which should be included in the contract itself. This allows you to check whether his licence allows him to do the work that you are contracting him to perform. You can check the currency of a licence by calling the builders’ registration office in your state and you can also ask questions about his competency to perform the specifications of your contract.
- Make sure every detail of your construction is actually contained in the contract details. This means that every element of the project shall be covered by the drawings and specifications attached to the contract and that each item has been carefully detailed and costed. Make sure that any inclusions that you have negotiated are also covered in the contract and that the cost of the inclusions is not to be made up by you.
- Following on from the above point, make sure that the entire cost of the contract is stated clearly so that there is no misunderstanding about what is being done by the builder. There have been some instances where confusion has arisen about inclusions like carpets or tiles, but if the cost of these items is not included in the total price then you will have to pay for them yourself.
- Make yourself aware of any cooling off periods so that you can get out of the contract within the specified time frame. It shall be clearly stated at the beginning of the contract but if you are in any doubt you should call the builders’ registration authority or a solicitor.
- Make sure the builder provides you with a certificate of currency for the insurance policy, which covers your project. In fact, the builder should provide this to you before he can receive any money from you whatsoever.
Just knowing these five things about builders’ contracts should help to keep you out of trouble but it highlights the issues that can arise with any construction. That’s why it is highly recommended that you consult a legal expert or at least a conveyancing firm that can assist you through this process.
