Flooded house

[tep846]

My friend's house was flooded when he was overseas due to fault of a sprayer. The sprayer was bought and installed by a builder who renovated the bathroom.

The builder came to the house. Not to fix and vacuum the water, but to take the sprayer!

My friend's friend has mopped the floorboard, but all the floorboard, furniture, walls and stuffs are damaged.

The builder blame my friend as he did not turn the central tap off and is not willing to compensate the damage. He asked my friend to ask the sprayer's supplier to be responsible too.

What's my friend rights in this case? Will he be able to sue the builder? If he does sue the builder, does he need to use his own money to fix the damages first? He actually does not have much money. If he used his home & building insurance, will it affect his insurance policy in the future?

 

[Perp]

Your friend may have a right to compensation from the builder under Australian Consumer Law, but that would involve litigation. It seems to me that this is precisely the reason you have insurance - make a claim on insurance and then let the insurer decide if it's worth suing the builder or manufacturer.

I don't think his insurance should go up, because there's no logical reason for an insurer to conclude that his business is inherently riskier as a result of this incident, but systems aren't always logical.

 

[Angel]

Surely the cost of repairing the problem is going to outweigh any potential increase in insurance premium.

 

[Scott No Mates]

Was the work covered by home warranty insurance? or did he neglect to have the builder comply with their statutory obligations just to save a few $$? (was the work valued over $20k for NSW).

 

[lizzie]

What the heck is a "sprayer" in the bathroom?

 

[Scott No Mates]

I think that the sprayer caused the OP to go OS.

 

[tep846]

Thanks for the help. The builder is now willing to fix the floodboards and skirting boards. But there are more damages such as on the wall, furniture, etc. The builder is not willing to use his insurance and he does not have much money. If none of my friend nor the builder not willing to claim from the insurance because they both want to avoid the increase in insurance fee in the future, is there any other way to work it up so that my friend can claim for the damage?

Your friend may have a right to compensation from the builder under Australian Consumer Law, but that would involve litigation. It seems to me that this is precisely the reason you have insurance - make a claim on insurance and then let the insurer decide if it's worth suing the builder or manufacturer.

So you reckon my friend should claim from his home & content insurance?

Was the work covered by home warranty insurance? or did he neglect to have the builder comply with their statutory obligations just to save a few $$? (was the work valued over $20k for NSW).

Not sure. Actually the builder was on the process of transferring his building licence from interstate. But he said he is providing the warranty. The work was under $10k.

What the heck is a "sprayer" in the bathroom?

Google explains better than me

 

[Scott No Mates]

Thanks for the help. The builder is now willing to fix the floodboards and skirting boards. But there are more damages such as on the wall, furniture, etc. The builder is not willing to use his insurance and he does not have much money. If none of my friend nor the builder not willing to claim from the insurance because they both want to avoid the increase in insurance fee in the future, is there any other way to work it up so that my friend can claim for the damage?


So you reckon my friend should claim from his home & content insurance?


Not sure. Actually the builder was on the process of transferring his building licence from interstate. But he said he is providing the warranty. The work was under $10k.

Contact Vcat/OFT for advice specific to your situation.