What types of inspections and building reports do SHS Building Consultants undertake?

• Causation Reports

A fully detailed SHS building causation report will supply the client with an unbiased answer as to “what” happened in an alleged event to cause the damage to people or property. An SHS causation report will address the event itself, the cause of the damage to a building or person and also identify what damage has resulted – including the type of damage expected from the event and any alleged damage from the event. The report will also identify what should be done to rectify the defect so that it does not continue to contribute to similar damage.

• Building Defects and Defective Building Work

Building defects are common to many buildings and are inspected in order to determine if the method of construction has contributed to the event or any resultant damage. To determine defective building work the Building Code of Australia, Australian Standards and Manufacturer Installation Guides are referenced within the report.

• Home Owner Warranty

Home owner warranty is a legislated building warranty that applies to all new buildings for 6 years from handover. In Western Australia builders must warranty their work, If the builder dies or becomes insolvent the insurance provider becomes responsible (within certain time and cost limits) to rectify resultant damage caused by defective building work. The Building Code of Australia, Australian Standards and Manufacturer Installation Guides are referenced within the HOW report to identify defective building work (the building contracts are referenced to establish responsibility) and therefore any implied breach which may warrant rectification work to be undertaken.

*Other reports are available on request and can be tailored to our client’s specific needs.

What to look for when buying a new home

SHS Structural Pre purchase Building inspections are undertaken in accordance with Australian Standard  4349.2. - The Inspection of Buildings. The definition of terms to be used, methods of inspection and overall expected outcomes of the inspection are addressed within the Standard to ensure that the building inspection industry is legislated. Unfortunately your purchase contract has not likely been written in accordance with the standard and there are many different contracts which vary greatly in their wording and the contracts very rarely  reference the Australian Standard for what constitutes a defect significant (enough to affect the purchase contract).

Put most simply the Australian Standard for Inspection of Buildings (and therefore your report which complies with the Standard) contains the legislatively accepted definition of defects. This means that if your house sale contract states " if  a building defect is discovered during the inspection has caused damage to a structural component of the building" or words to that effect, and that this may affect the contract of sale, you must check the wording of the defect in the building report against the wording in your contract. (It is important not to assume that a MAJOR defect as defined within you pre purchase report is also a STRUCTURAL DEFECT  as defined within your sale contract). Ultimately the person who wrote the contract of sale should be consulted as to what any identified defect identified during your building inspection may mean in accordance with your contract of sale.

Why you might need a building inspection when building a new home.

If you have questions regarding the quality of recent work undertaken in your home, A building registered consultant can help. SHS Building Consultants are experts in establishing if building work is defective and most importantly WHY the work is considered defective. It is sometimes easy to see what may be wrong, but if your builder doesn't recognise it as a defect what can you do?

Well firstly there is the Western Australian Building Commission. They have been tasked to deal with most building complaints and will be able to

• order the parties attend conciliation if it appears to the commissioner worthwhile to do so;
• make a building remedy order or home building work contract order (up to a limit of $100,000 for rectification work or $500,000 of payments); or
• if the matter is too complex or outside of the monetary limits above, refer a dispute to the State Administrative Tribunal or
• Dismiss the complaint

​To enable the commissioner to understand the complaint a building consultant can offer an expert opinion that

(1) identifies the defective work

(2) identifies the building code or Australian Standard breach and

(3) identifies what must be done to fix it.

Building and Contract Disputes

Building a new home or carrying out building work can often mean that the experience becomes emotionally charged, which unfortunately can lead to building disputes and contract issues between the builder and owner.

SHS Building Consyultants will ensure that any defects or contract breaches are  identified and that the builder is aware of their obligations to enable a timely and fair resolution of  dispute matters. Unfortunately, sometimes dispute matters may be unresolvable without escalation to a court or tribunal for determination and an SHS Building Report can be used as an expert witness report for the court or commissioners consideration.

The Building Regulations 2012 (the Regulations) require the owner of a dwelling to have compliant smoke alarms installed: • prior to the transfer of ownership; • where a dwelling is rented under a residential tenancy agreement or made available for such rent; • where a dwelling is made available for hire. What is a compliant smoke alarm? To comply with the Regulations, owners must ensure that the smoke alarm(s): (a) are in accordance with the Building Code of Australia (‘BCA’) that is applicable at the time of installation of the alarms. (Note: dwellings that were approved for construction prior to 1 May 2015 do not have to comply with the BCA requirement for interconnection of smoke alarms where there is more than one); and (b) are not more than 10 years old at the time of transfer of ownership or making the dwelling available for rent or hire; and (c) are in working order; and (d) are permanently connected to consumer mains power

The Building Code of Australia is available online for free from 2015!

Reasons to Get a Building Inspection

The Home Building Contracts Act defines a variation and sets out whjat must be done by both parties:

7.

(1) A variation of a contract
(a) must be in writing-
(i) setting out all of the terms of, and the cost of, the
variation;
(ii) showing the date of the variation;
and
(b) must be signed by the builder and the owner or their
respective agents.

(2) The owner or his agent must be given a copy of the signed
variation
(a) as soon as is reasonably practicable after it has been signed
by both parties; and
(b) before the work to which the variation relates is commenced.

The obligations must be met be both parties for the varioation to be considered binding. Fines apply to the builder for not following the protocol outlined withion the Home Building Contracts Act