whitt said:
keep on top of any defects you notice on the way. and iron out a good late completion payment
whitt
The problem with the building contract law is that there is very little you can do about shortcomings in the building whilst it is in progress and builders know this.
You will find for instance that there is nothing to enforce the Building Code or the relevant Australian Standards. It surprises many owners that this stuff is only advisory(!!). Likewise, recommendations by manufacturers for the installation of their products are often not read or complied with. Practically speaking, there is nothing to enforce compliance with the Code or the Standards. Even if the owner specified compliance with a particular Standard in the building specifications and the builder did not comply, there is bugger all you can do to force rectification. Ultimately, the builder can do what he likes and some do.
Also, the inspections by the Council (and often by the engineer too) can be cursory to say the least.
Further. the owner
has to make all progress payments,
without deduction otherwise the owner is in breach of contract.
Realistically, it is only after paying for practical completion that the owner can seek rectification of defects, because up to then the builder will claim that building is still in progress.
This is why you have to put the hard yards into finding a reliable builder in the first instance and also why you need to use the BSA contract. IMHO even the tightest contract and specifications cannot guarantee an acceptable end product because any builder who wants to short-cut (or increase margins through variations) has plenty of ways he can do that with impunity. A better contract etc, gives some possibility of remedy for some of the really abusive practices, but only after the building has obviously failed within the warranty period.
Regarding the last point, you can photograph a tiler laying tiles in a shower without adequate waterproofing, but you cannot do anything about it until the water seeps through the sub-floor during use. Logically an owner would expect that tilers are required to follow the Australian Standard. Why do our taxes go into drafting Standards that are not mandatory minimums for practice?!
It sucks that good tradespeople get undercut by rogues and that some builders encourage subbies to undercut. Likewise it sucks that State politicians are not more interested and do not give BSA inspectors more flexibility - but then I suppose that more people should contact them direct to complain.
Lplate