The Building and Construction Security of Payment Amendment Act 2018 is now in force and the most recent round of amendments are effective from 21 October 2019. Notable amendments include the reintroduction of the statement that claims are made under the Act to all progress claims, whether the work is residential or commercial. The notation: […]
The Appeal Panel’s decision in Ashton v Stevenson (discussed in issue 7, August 2019) has been subject to appeal. At first instance, the Senior Member classified defects to the external balcony and cladding as major defects. The Appeal Panel disagreed and held that those defects were ’minor’. One effect of this decision was that those […]
In Mann v Paterson Constructions Pty Ltd [2019] HCA 32 the High Court clarified the availability of the restitutionary remedy of ’quantum meruit’ to a builder in the specific circumstances where the builder terminates the contract following repudiatory behaviour of a homeowner. A literal translation of ‘quantum meruit’ is ’the amount he deserves’. It can […]
The Owners SP 92888 v Taylor Construction Group and Frasers Putney [2019] NSWCAT is NSW’s first foray into the combustible cladding arena but is analogous to VIC’s ‘absolute test for fitness for purpose’ decision arising from the Lacrosse fires (Owners Corporation No.1 of PS613436T v LU Simon Builders Pty Ltd (Building and Property) [2019] VCAT […]
Manly long leaseholders stranded high and dry as Court of Appeal dismisses Spring Cove appeal In the Owners—Strata Plan No 91322 v Trustees of the Roman Catholic Church for the Archdiocese of Sydney [2019] NSWCA 89 the Court of Appeal gave short shift to the question of whether an owners corporation, holding a 99 year […]
Defective work—Appeal Panel considers the scope of ‘major’ defect The Home Building Act In Ashton v Stevenson; Stevenson v Ashton [2019] NSWCATAP 67 NCAT’s Appeal Panel considered the vexed question of what is a ‘major’ defect under the Home Building Act 1989 (Act). The concept of ‘major’ defect was introduced by the Home Building Amendment […]
Defective building work and the Home Building Act 1989 (HBA). In Hutchings v Hope [2019] NSWCATAP 59, the Appeal Panel clarified whether the two-year limitation period found in section 18E of the Home Building Act 1989 (HBA) altered the six-year limitation period for breach of contract found in section 14 (1) of the Limitation Act […]
Department of Fair Trading and strata mediation. The mediation service offered by Fair Trading can be invaluable in resolving the most common strata disputes involving the use of common property, pets and parking. Overseen by experienced and impartial mediators, the process is free and widely available to occupiers, residents and workers in strata schemes. This […]
The Contractors Debts Act 1997 is often overlooked but, used correctly, can assist unpaid subcontractors, typically tradesmen, suppliers or labourers, when they are owed money by a builder. In these circumstances, the CDA entitles a subcontractor to leapfrog over the builder and obtain payment directly from the principal (or home-owner) who engaged the defaulting contractor. […]
Trader check, your one-stop-shop for information about trades. Trader Check is one part of the Government’s better business reforms and aims to provide consumers with a free, online ‘one-stop-shop’ of information about traders. The Better Business Reforms are scheduled to be introduced into the NSW parliament this month. Currently, consumers search multiple websites to identify […]
