There seems to be a lot of people now being owner builders. It may be because of the popularity of shows like The Block and House Rules and the desire to purchase property as an investment, renovate and then sell for a nice gain.

Many owner builders are not aware that they will have the same liability as a builder if there are any building defects. The owner builder gives the same promises as a builder who entered into a building contract with someone to carry out work.

The promises include that the building work was performed in a proper and workmanlike manner. A recent case in the Supreme Court on 8 August 2014 brings this home. In this case a couple wanted to extensively renovate their home.

The husband travelled regularly for work so the wife decided that she would hold the owner builders licence. She then entered into contracts with all tradespeople and co-ordinated all of the works on site. Once the works were finished they listed the property for sale. Another couple purchased the property and not long after moving in they experienced problems with quite a number of items including the air conditioning and sealing of the windows. Whenever it rained they had water coming into the house.

The judge found that the building works were defective, ie: they were not performed in a proper and workmanlike manner, and as a result the wife was ordered to pay the owners a sum of $1,171,124. What was meant to be a clever investment strategy turned out to be quite an expensive exercise!

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