As we have intimated on these pages previously, the NSW Home building Act 1989 (HBA) and the Building and Design Practitioners Act 2020 (DBPA) have been a revolutionary feature in the way that defects related damages claims are brought, and are adjudicated, in NSW.

One of the areas which many clients seem to have a distinct problem with is the ‘Owner Builder’ sphere.

Many clients have opted to ‘project manage’ their home building venture and this means that both the HBA, and DBPA can be used to potentially bring claims against these owner builders by subsequent buyers of the properties. These claims usually related to property defects and damages allegedly caused by these usually unlicensed project managers and supervisors of the development.

Under HBA, and more importantly under the DBPA, developers, as well as supervisors and project managers can be sued by subsequent owners in respect of these kinds of projects.

We have seen disasters where Owner-Builders have refused to follow our advice in relation to these kinds of matters and have sought to defend these matters (through other law firms) where they have lost a significant part of their livelihood (not only having had to pay for the damages claimed after trial, but also having had to pay out their own and the owners’ legal costs).

If you are being sued in these kinds of matters, we fully review your case and assess your chances of success from the outset, by carefully examining factors such as:

• The claimed defects;
• The manner in which (and the reason why) these are said to be defects;
• Assessment of any owner related expert evidence;
• The calibre and quality of project management and supervision of the development;
• The nature of the work of the builders and subcontractors, and others (were there any superintendents?);
• any available lay (non-expert) evidence;
• What aspects of the DBPA, or what aspect of the HBA warranties were breached if any;
• what aspects of any Australian Standards, the Building Code of Australia (BCA) and related regulations were breached, if any; and
• the availability of any defences, including further assessment of Owner-Builder’s expert evidence.

We will then inform you whether your case has a good defence, or if other avenues (such as a reasonable compromise and settlement) are available.

Our lawyers have considerable experience in all HBA and DBPA matters and can advise you if any ancillary steps (such as cross-claims) are required.

At Papallo Kouchoo Lawyers, we do our utmost to uphold your rights in order to ensure that all your rights as an Owner-Builder are properly safeguarded.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us for an obligation free professional consultation.