Household Tips and Improvements
There are certain ways to reduce the risks associated with hiring a tradie. To help you avoid problems with a shonky tradie, here are some helpful tips.
Hiring a business for your building project is always a gamble. Even if your builder comes highly recommended by a friend or relative, there are just no guarantees. But there are certain ways to help you reduce the risks associated with hiring a builder or tradie. To help you avoid future problems caused by hiring a shonky tradie, here are some helpful tips from NSW Fair Trading.
The importance of a licence check
When hiring, finding out whether a builder or tradie is licensed to do your work should be your priority. Only builders and tradies who are properly trained and experienced are granted a licence by NSW Fair Trading. Licences are given based on the specialisation of the tradie. so it’s important to ensure that you’re not just checking for a license; you’re also verifying that it is the right license for the job.
According to the law, any residential building job that costs upwards of $5,000, including labour and materials, should only be completed by a licensed builder. For specialist tradies like electricians, plumbers, drain and gasfitting experts, and air conditioning and refrigeration professionals, a licence is absolutely necessary whenever they carry out any work.
The NSW Government has built an online licence check tool that can help you verify the licence of any tradie quickly and easily. Taking a few minutes to do this simple background check gives you a chance to clear up a lot of important information about the business. This online tool can tell you whether a particular licence is current or expired, any conditions and limitations endorsed on the licence, the particular jobs that the business is licensed to undertake, and other pertinent details.
Knowing your rights is essential
Before entering into a contract for a home building project that costs more than $5,000, your builder or tradie should hand you a copy of the Consumer Building Guide. This document lets you know about your basic consumer rights, key home building information, including details on the Home Building Compensation Fund (previously the Home Warranty Insurance), need-to-know facts about contracts and payment schemes, and even some warnings about common traps employed by dodgy builders and tradies.
The NSW Fair Trading website also has information on settling disputes with your builder, statutory warranties, and links that can point you to any other resource you might require.