I have a building Complaint.. What now??

If your complaint is regarding home building work and contract disputes The Building Commission of Western Australia may be able to help. An expert witness report from SHS Building Inspection services can clearly identify what the building defect / concern is so that the commissioner may consider your case. Failure to provide enough clear evidence with reference to acceptable standards and Building Code requirements or present the evidence in an expert witness report may harm your chances of a desired outcome. SHS Building Inspection services can help with this.

The following information has been obtained from the Building Commission website https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/building-commission/building-complaint

Who can make a complaint?

A complaint under the Building Services (Complaint Resolution and Administration) Act 2011 can be made by any person who is adversely affected by the carrying out of regulated building services.

A complaint may be made to the Building Commissioner by:

• a person whose interests are being or have been adversely affected by the carrying out of a regulated building service (ie the owner of the work or an affected third party); or
• an owner or builder under a contract for home building work valued between $7,500 and $500,000.

Not only may a person who has directly contracted a building service lodge a complaint, but also any person adversely affected by that building service. This can include a neighbour whose property has been damaged as a result of unsatisfactory building services or some other third party.

Time limits for making a complaint

There are time limits for lodging complaints with the Building Commissioner. In general, a complaint cannot be considered more than six years after completion of the work.

You should consider the following when ascertaining the completion date of a regulated building service:

• If the work was done under a permit and the person responsible for the work ceases their responsibility under the permit, the work is completed when the notice of cessation is given.
• If not the above, the work is completed when the notice of completion is given.
• If the work is not carried out under a permit, then the work is completed on the date that practical completion is achieved.

For specific home building work contract matters (contract variations, breach of contract, termination payments) the time limit for making a complaint is generally three years from when the contract was entered into or when the breach first occurred, whichever is later.

Making a complaint

Before initiating a complaint with the Building Commission, read the important information provided in the Building complaint resolution guide. Complete the Notice of proposed complaint and provide it to the party against who the complaint is going to be made at least 14 days before submitting a formal complaint to the Building Commissioner.

If a satisfactory response to your notice of proposed complaint is not received, complete the Building complaint form and lodge it with the Building Commission together with copies of relevant documents and the complaint fee.

When preparing your complaint form, detailed information is required to enable proper investigation of the complaint. The Building Commissioner may, in writing, require a person making a complaint provide further details about the complaint. Where these details are not provided within a reasonable time, the Building Commissioner may refuse to accept a complaint.