In the Garden City of Victoria, if you are building a new home or renovating an existing home (and value of the work is more than $16,000), you will need a Building Warranty Inspection.

As per the regulations, when you build a new home in Victoria you must get Owner Builder Warranty Insurance (or Builder’s Indemnity Insurance) before you sell the property. The purpose of the insurance is to defend the home buyer. The warranty is a way to ensure building work has been completed in an accordance with contract plans and specifications. Building materials must be a new – if they are not, this must be stated in the contract. In addition, all building materials must be of good quality and fit for the purpose.

Most of the time, the insurance company will request a Defect Report of the building before providing any coverage. This is where you will need an experienced and trained Building Warranty Inspector. Expert inspectors knows just what to look. They focus on all the critical specifics, using a wide-ranging checklist to ensure the building complies with the Building Codes and Standards of Australia.

A Defect Report sometimes called a Building Completion Report or a Warranty Report. The report also addresses cosmetic defects such as depraved paint jobs or surface scratches.

The building contractor will be required to repair any structural defective building work if less than 6 years and 3 months have passed since the completion of the building work. For the non-structural building work, 12 months after the completion of the building work is the cut-off period.

It’s recommended to schedule a Building Warranty Inspection at about the 11-month mark after your Building Handover Inspection. This will ensure that you persist within the 12 month warranty period for non-structural building defects.