Owner Builders Alert
- Mar 18, 2015
- 1 min read
By Joe Vizzone
Laws have recently changed in relation to the sale of property where work has been completed under an Owner/Builder permit.
Previously, all owner builders were required to obtain Home Owners Warranty Insurance to protect buyers against faulty materials and defective workmanship. The insurance cover was not great but at least it afforded some protection for house buyers.
Under the new legislation, owner builders no longer are required to obtain Home Owners Warranty Insurance but they must disclose in a sale contract that:
(a) an owner builders permit had been issued for the property;
(b) work done under an owner/builder is not required to be insured.
If an owner builder does not disclose that information, the buyer can pull out of the Contract without penalty at any time prior to settlement. For an owner builder, who in the meantime has entered into a Contract to purchase another property, losing his/her purchaser may have devastating consequences.
It is vital when selling property the you engage someone who is abreast of the rapidly changing legal environment regarding property sales which is leaning more and more towards protection of the buyer.
Joe Vizzone is a partner of Vizzone Ruggero Twigg Lawyers and has 30 years of property experience. He was previously a partner of Vizzone Ruggero & Associates (VRA) and Adrian Twigg & Co. If you would like his urgent advice or for him to act on your conveyancing matter, whether buying or selling, please contact us on 02 9667 1271 or email law@vrtlawyers.com.au
Joe Vizzone VRT Lawyers Partner
Owner Builders Will Be Effected by the New Laws
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