It’s a requirement
Under Queensland law, contractors must provide a Consumer Building Guide to home owners to sign and return, before they sign a residential building contract for $20,000 or more.
The Consumer Building Guide is more than just a regulatory requirement, it’s an important safeguard, protecting the interests of contractors as well as home owners.
It can help to reduce the common causes of conflict by ensuring home owners know what to expect before, during and after building, from day one.
The guide is great education tool providing understanding about:
- variations and how they can add cost and time to a build
- deposit and progress payments and the importance of paying on time
- extensions of time which may be triggered by changes made.
- what the QHWS covers and what it doesn’t
- and the strict timeframes for notifying of defective building work and making claims.
What happens if the guide isn’t provided?
Failing to provide the guide to a home owner before the contract is signed has implications for a contractors.
Contractors can be subject to regulatory action if not providing this document to customers to read, sign and return to the contractor before then going on to sign a contract.
More information
Learn more about the Consumer Building Guide and free contract templates visit our Domestic building contracts webpage.
