Home Building Contract (5) - QLD

Domestic Building Contracts Act 2000

The Domestic Building Contracts Act 2000 (the DBC Act) was introduced to provide improved protection and information to Queensland home owners undertaking domestic building work valued at more than $3300 (including labour, materials and GST). It is important to understand the key provisions of the Act (detailed below), especially as some contractors may seek to use contract documentation which does not comply with this new legislation.

Written contracts

All domestic building work valued at $3,300 or more must be covered by a written contract which complies with the DBC Act. Home owners should carefully check their contract documentation and, if necessary, seek legal advice before signing to ensure it complies with the Act. BSA produces a range of contracts which comply with the Act and cover all types of domestic building work – the 'Major Works' Contract Pack recommended for domestic building projects with a contract price exceeding $40,000 to the construction of an entire house (i.e. Designated Stages Contract); 'Minor Works' Contract Pack recommended for domestic building projects from $3,301 to $40,000 (e.g. renovations), and the Contract for Small Building Projects for work less than $3300.

The 'Cooling-off' period

All contracts for domestic building work valued at over $3300 must advise home owners of their right to a 'cooling-off' period. Under the DBC Act home owners may withdraw from the contract during the cooling-off period, usually within 5 business days of receiving from the contractor a copy of both the signed contract and a BSA-approved Contract Information Statement. The home owner must give written notice of their intention to withdraw to the contractor and pay certain costs (usually $100 plus ‘out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by the contractor before the building owner withdrew from the contract’).

Information statements

The DBC Act requires contractors to provide home owners with a signed copy of the contract, together with a BSA-approved Contract Information Statement, within 5 business days of entering into the contract. Contract Information Statements contain general information relating to the contract for the benefit of home owners. BSA has two versions of a Contract Information Statement (available from any BSA Office) known as the BSA Major Works Consumer Guide and BSA Minor Works Information Statement. Be sure to carefully read the Contract Information Statement you are given by the contractor before you sign the contract.

Variations

Failure to fully and accurately document changes to the original contract (commonly known as 'variations' ) is a frequent cause of building disputes. All variations requested by the contractor must be put in writing and copied to the home owner as soon as practicable. The only exception is if the work is required urgently and it is not reasonably practicable to produce a variation document before commencing work. If a variation requested by a contractor involves additional work, the home owner is only liable to pay for that extra work if the contractor could not reasonably have foreseen the extra work at the time of contracting. The contractor must not demand payment for variations before the work has commenced.

(Source: bsa.qld.gov.au)