At Frampton Legal, we have more than 25 years’ experience in representing home owners, builders, building suppliers and sub-contractors in building and building contract disputes.
Many disputes could have been completely avoided had the contract and specification documents been carefully reviewed before signing and commencement of works.
For the homeowner
The greatest source of disputes are:
- No contract documents. All domestic building works over $3,000 require a written contract;
- Price is not fixed. Unless there is some reason why the price cannot be accurately determined before works have commenced (eg a demolition and renovation) domestic building contracts must be a fixed sum and not a cost plus or hourly rate price.
- Variations to works are not documented. All variations must be in writing and signed.
- Incompetent and incomplete works. Check the background and credentials of your proposed contractor. Ask for references of other works.
It is also vital that you ensure that you have the contractor’s QBCC licence number and conduct an online check to verify the status of the contractor’s licence, any complaints against the contractor, how were resolved and whether the type of licence permits the contractor to do the type of work you require. If in doubt contact us or the QBCC direct.
Disputes over the quality of domestic building work (quality of the work) may be resolved with the assistance of the QBCC but this may be slow and unrewarding.
Disputes over all aspects of domestic building works can be referred to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The form of application is available on their website as is the link to the relevant legislation. However the:
- Tribunal rarely gives leave for the parties to be represented by a lawyer leaving you to represent yourself;
- process is lengthy and can be complex.
The better and safer course is to avoid the dispute altogether. We recommend that you seek our advice:
- before signing your contract;
- at any time you have concerns about the quality of the work;
- if you believe the contractor is not doing what the contract says he agreed to do.
We can assist you with all aspects of your dispute and advance dispute prevention.
For the builder
Advance dispute prevention is key. For all builders time is money. Time away from the office or site is lost time. A dispute means lost time and therefore money. The sooner that the dispute is resolved, the sooner that you complete the works and move to the next site.
In the event of a dispute domestic builders should refer to the HIA and QMBA for assistance. Failing resolution by this means, builders should contact us with a view to mediating the dispute.
Disputes come not only from homeowners but also your suppliers and subtrades.
Ensure that your contract documents fully and clearly set out the terms agreed. Verbal agreements, past practices and “he should have known that the materials or quantities were wrong” are frequent excuses for disputes. They can all be avoided by putting the terms discussed and agreed on paper. An email is good. A signed purchase order is better. Have your contract documents updated to ensure that they fully and properly protect your rights.
A court or tribunal is not likely to intervene where you have not taken steps yourself to protect yourself.
Be wary of all invoices marked “payment claim”. It is vital that you be familiar with and understand the Building Construction Industry Payments Scheme Act (BCIPS) and ensure that they diarise all payment claims in case they wish to dispute the claim and lodge a payment schedule. Failure to do so on time may result in losing a right to defend the claim at an adjudication and court hearing. It is vital that your payment claim raise all of the grounds for your dispute of the claim/ invoice.
We can assist you with all aspects of your dispute and advance dispute prevention.
For the supplier/ subcontractor
The key is to fully record the terms of your agreement. Have the builder or contractor write it down, provide you with a purchase order, plans or drawings.
Ensure that important terms such as start/delivery date, quantities, specification or scope of works, rate, total cost and risk issues are agreed before you start. There is little or no chance of resolving them once a dispute has already arisen. Chances are that a dispute may arise simply where either side has forgotten to include or has unintentionally excluded an important term of their agreement and the other side has seized on the weakness to negotiate a better deal.
Contact us to assist you with all aspects of your dispute and advance dispute prevention.