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.
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.
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.