Renovating, Tradies and builders licence QLD

[ozimike]

Hi, this is my first post. We have bought ourselves a 2 storey house in QLD. The tenants are now out and we started renovating 3 weeks ago. Going great guns. Pulled out kitchen, bathrooms, replaced wall to make it back to 4 bedrooms, put in nice french doors up and down, tiled downstairs and modernised rumpus room. Bagging the outside. Hired some tradies to do some things, handy man for others (with bsa licences) and done most other stuff ourselves.
today the BSA guy came around. Turns out to "co-ordinate" all these different trade jobs, we need to have a builders licence over $6000 worth of work and attend O/B course as it is over $11000. So doing the owner builder licence for this one, but can only do these every 6 years in QLD.
All you other forumites doing renovations over $6000 how are you doing it? BSA guy told me we can get a registered builder to "oversee" the work, we arrange for and are liable for payment to the tradies "under" the builder with a licence. Does anyone out there in Brisbane know any builders willing to do this for a fee. What other experiences do you have there? We plan to buy and sell a number of times each year.
Cheers.

 

[stickysandwich]

Oz

We'll do it for a fee, but we are in South Australia. How does that work?

Rebecca

 

[Aceyducey]

ozimike,

Always understand your local council planning guildelines and state licensing requirements before starting a renovation.

If you intend to do this in the way you've described on an ongoing basis you need to thoroughly understand the legal implications of your actions.

There are a number of ways to spread or breakdown renovations to fit them within the legal parameters, but this varies enormously by state and council area.

<RANT>
Good god man - you've started an ongoing renovation business without doing normal due diligence!!!!

Who in their right mind makes a major business or investment decision without at least attempting to understand their legal obligations.

What else have you missed? Do you have an expected return for the property you're renovating? Do you have contingency plans for if the market falls? Have you taken into consideration the time and costs required to onsell renovated properties once you're done? Do you know which parts of the renovation add the most value? Are you renovating to the level you'd like to live in or have you done your research for the area and are renovating to the appropriate level for the local neighbourhood? Have you taken into account the local ethnic breakdown and specific renovations desired by the largest socio-economic group? Have you determined the demand for the specific configuration of the property once it's completed? Do you have a strong cashflow position to support the periodic gaps in a reno business when you're outlaying lots of cash but have none coming in?

After this reno you need to step back and do the numbers to ensure that you've got a business that makes money.
</RANT>

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[O2BWealthy]

exceptions?

There must be some exceptions to these requirements. Does it perhaps not apply to some trades? I can't believe that if I want to have the exterior of my house (a queenslander - lots of timber) painted at a cost of $15,000 or install a new kitchen for similar money I must either

a) employ the painters or kitchen contractor via a builder, or
b) complete an OB course first.

Reading the material at the QBSA -

http://www.bsa.qld.gov.au/NR/rdonly...47D5/0/FactsForHomeBuildersAndRennovators.pdf

it is not clear what work is meant to be captured in the $6,600 OB permit, $11K OB course and what work is not. Can ayone direct me to a web link where I can find out what work around the house is to captured and what is not?

 

[Tikki]

I've always been under the impression that things such as replacing carpets, gardening, tiling, etc would not fall under 'renovations'. Therefore cutting the renovation bill down significantly.

Other stuff like replacing kitchens, bathrooms I would have thought may require a O/B licence if over their limit. Then again, what if you don't do these reno's all in one hit, and each part falls under the 6K?

 

[Aimjoy]

Other stuff like replacing kitchens, bathrooms I would have thought may require a O/B licence if over their limit. Then again, what if you don't do these reno's all in one hit, and each part falls under the 6K?

Hi Tikki,
My understanding is that you can aviod the OB thingy if each part is done at different times and falls under $6K (although I think in NSW is $10K that is the limit)
Additionally, if you sell within 6 or 7 years of doing an OB thingy then you must also pass onto the new owners - insurance coverage for the works.
Cheers.

 

[Tikki]

Thanks Aimjoy, I'll have to find out where WA lies with all this stuff.

 

[markpatric]

There must be some exceptions to these requirements. Does it perhaps not apply to some trades? I can't believe that if I want to have the exterior of my house (a queenslander - lots of timber) painted at a cost of $15,000 or install a new kitchen for similar money I must either

a) employ the painters or kitchen contractor via a builder, or
b) complete an OB course first.

Reading the material at the QBSA -

http://www.bsa.qld.gov.au/NR/rdonly...47D5/0/FactsForHomeBuildersAndRennovators.pdf

it is not clear what work is meant to be captured in the $6,600 OB permit, $11K OB course and what work is not. Can ayone direct me to a web link where I can find out what work around the house is to captured and what is not?

Why can`t you believe it?, you need a licence to do anything these days, what I can`t believe is the many self appointed RENO KINGS or so called experts giving advise or supplying readily available tips/info when they have no trade behind them and come from totally different industries just because there is money in property right now.
You can understand why builders would get frustrated with people trying to screw thier prices down in this environment, like in any field you want something done you pay the money.

 

[Brenda Irwin]

I am surprised at the confusion at what constitutes 'building'.

The BSA exist because of unsafe building works from owner builders what didn't have a clue what they were doing when they when they altered the existing structure of the building. Because of these unsafe practices, people were getting injured. Eg Balconies fell down, roofs collapsed, stairs fell down, etc. That is why the BSA exists, to make sure these accidents are prevented.

Think what constitutes 'building'. Changing the existing building structure which was originally inspected and passed by a registered professional builder. Of course there should be some monitoring of that sort of activity.

Paint does not hold a house up. A garden does not hold a house up. Carpets do not hold a house up. A kitchen cabinet doesn't hold a house up. These are a part of maintenance which from time to time need replacing.

Using a number of licenced trademen to basically restore a house to its original condition shouldn't require an owners licence. Why double up on licences? How do you contract a tradey? Via telephone. Perhaps the owner needs a telephone licence.

 

[thebuildingsurv]

I am not familar with the QLD building regs however much of the work you are describing is repair, replacement or maintanance work, which should be exempt from the need to obtain a building permit and OB license ( may still need town planning ) the stuff that does need a permit obtain a seperate permit for each job and ensure its under 11k then do as many as you want. If you wanna tackle addittions etc, then use a registered builder, maybe you can allow in his contract for you to carry out certain works such as demolitions and rubbish removal of old bathrooms etc, to save cash.
cheers
TBS

 

[Gill Bates]

Do u know how the BSA guy found out about the project?