All you need to know about becoming an owner-builder Owner-builder Application Kit and Information Statement
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o w n e r - b u i l d e r 3 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Content Thinking of Building Your Own Home? 4 Do you have what it take to be an owner-builder? 5 - Your building knowledge Owner-building can be riky 6 - Financial rik - Quality rik - Time rik - Future rik - Inurance The fact about being an owner-builder 7 - Who i an owner-builder? - What are the reponibilitie of an owner-builder? - A an owner-builder you... - What work can an owner-builder undertake? Undertanding the building proce 10 - Starting out on a building project - Building urveyor - Municipal Building Surveyor - Private Building Surveyor - What doe a building urveyor do? Permit 12 - What permit are required? - Planning permit - Building permit - Applying for a building permit - Certificate of final inpection - Occupancy permit - Compliance Certificate Dometic hed and garage 14 Buhfire conideration 15 - Buhfire Attack Level (BAL) - Buhfire Prone Area Map - Buhfire Attack Level under the Autralian Standard 3959-2009 6 Star Standard 17-6 Star Standard applie to new home, renovation, alteration and addition - Regularly maintain gate and fence - Compliance and enforcement Certificate of conent 20 - What i a certificate of conent? - When i a certificate of conent required? - When i a certificate of conent not required? Applying for a certificate of conent 21 - What i required to be eligible for a certificate of conent? - Completing your application: thing you hould know - Appealing againt a deciion of the Building Practitioner Board Engaging builder and tradepeople 23 - Requirement of an owner-builder - Tip for reolving dipute Selling your property 25 - There are owner-builder requirement under the Building Act - Statutory warrantie apply - Ramification for non-compliance with the requirement Proecution and enforcement 26 - If thing go wrong... -... including with your building urveyor Owner-builder contact 27 - Education provider - Building information - Building practitioner regitration - Building deign - Inurance - Taxation - Energy efficiency - Abeto - Building Standard - Building Act and Regulation Protection of your privacy 29 - Information Collection Notice Application form for a certificate of conent 30 Swimming pool 18 - Swimming pool and pa - Requirement of owner contructing a new wimming pool - What are afety barrier NOT required for?
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 4 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Thinking of Building Your Own Home? Building or renovating your home i an exciting time. It involve large um of money and a range of rik, which make it important to be well informed. Having greater control over the building project i attractive to many people, but it i important to be aware of the reponibilitie and obligation of being an owner-builder. You are legally reponible for the project from tart to finih. Certain reponibilitie occur for ix and a half year after completion (refer page 25). In addition, you will alo be liable if the building work fail to comply with the relevant building regulation and afety tandard. Building a home involve a large number of tak, o to be ucceful a an owner-builder require a trong knowledge bae and a range of kill beyond building, including project planning, uperviion, financial management and communication. If omeone ha recommended that you become an owner-builder but they take care of and organie all the work you are putting yourelf at ignificant rik.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 5 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Do you have what it take to be an owner-builder? Your Building Knowledge The following lit of quetion will ait you in checking whether you have the kill and knowledge to be an owner-builder: Can you interpret detailed plan and pecification? Are you capable to upervie all contruction work? Do you have the ability to coordinate the flow of work by ub-contractor to enable you to complete your dometic building project on time and on budget? Are you able to handle financial or contractual dipute with ub-contractor and upplier? Can you be available onite to receive material and enure that they comply with pecification, required quantity and quality? Do you have the ability to ditinguih technically what i bad building work? Do you have the experience to etablih the value of work completed to enable you to make accurate progre payment to trade contractor and upplier? Have you accounted for potential material and labour cot increae that may occur during contruction? Do you know how to determine if your land contain reactive clay or other problem oil and if o, what action mut be taken to overcome the problem to enure the footing are tructurally ound? Can you ite the building on the property or do you need a land urveyor? Are you aware of the exact boundarie of your land? Do you know how to organie inurance to cover all of your liabilitie for peronal injury and adequate inurance to cover the work againt hazard uch a fire, torm damage, theft, public rik and accident with your inurance company or broker? Have you budgeted for thi cot? Regitered dometic builder are trained to provide all of thee ervice and are reponible for the contruction and atifactory performance of your home. They alo have the knowledge and qualification to enure that tructural work i undertaken to the tandard of the National Contruction Code Serie. Do not make the deciion to owner-build lightly. Unle you are confident that you have the knowledge of thee requirement, you hould eriouly reconider if becoming an owner-builder i the right choice for you. Your home i one of your mot important invetment it i worth conulting with a regitered builder from the tart to finih of your building project.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 6 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Owner-building can be riky A an owner-builder, you hould learn about rik aociated with: Abeto and renovation Health and afety obligation Contractual requirement Building in a buhfire prone area Building a wimming pool Inurance An owner-builder aume the reponibilitie, rik and liabilitie of a builder. The level of thoe reponibilitie, rik and liabilitie depend on the extent of the building work undertaken by the owner. Thee rik may include: Financial rik Project cot increae. Rectification work due to faulty workmanhip and/or non-compliance. Variation from the original plan. Lo by theft or fire on the ite. Site protection cot (ecurity, afety). Occupational health and afety claim. Adjoining property owner claim. Compliance with regulation (building tandard, planning requirement and occupational health and afety etc). Technical ability to direct and ae workmanhip. Time rik Identification and engagement of uitable tradepeople. Coordination and continuity of work. Completion of work. Future rik Cot of inuring propective purchaer. Claim by purchaer. Inurance Rik are reduced if the owner-builder enter into a major dometic building contract with a Regitered Building Practitioner if that part of the building work exceed $5,000. Where the contract um exceed $16,000 and the contractor i required to provide dometic building inurance, rik are further reduced. Quality rik Adequacy of drawing and pecification. Standard of workmanhip by other. *You hould contact an appropriate inurance provider for more information on thi proce (ee owner-builder contact page 27) A an owner-builder, you need to enure that you have appropriate workplace and public afety inurance policie in place. You hould alo conider purchaing policie to protect yourelf againt other rik uch a fire and theft.* When building in cloe proximity to the boundary, protection work may be required. If thi i the cae, you mut alo provide a contract of inurance for adjoining property protection during contruction and 12 month following completion.*
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 7 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t The fact about being an owner-builder In Victoria owner-builder can only build or renovate one home every three year. * If you think thi relate to you, then it i important that you undertand the content of thi application kit. That way you hould have the neceary information to help you determine if you are in fact a genuine owner-builder. You hould alo be aware of the mot obviou rik and reponibilitie that an owner-builder face. If you have further quetion, pleae contact the Victorian Building Authority on 1300 815 127. Who i an owner-builder? To be an owner-builder you: Mut own (or co-own with other) the land on which building work i to be carried out. If the land i owned by a body corporate (company) or i the ubject of a trut, the owner-builder mut be a director of the company or a beneficiary of the trut Body corporate director and trut beneficiarie will need written permiion from the body corporate or trutee to apply for an owner-builder certificate of conent Similarly, if the land i owned by more than one peron, the owner-builder will need the written permiion of all other owner. Do not intend to ell the building immediately or rent and will reide or intend to reide in your owner-built home. May undertake all or part of the dometic building work except in area that require licened tradepeople, uch a electrician and plumber (unle you are either an electrician or plumber). Arrange and contract out part or part of the building work to qualified tradepeople or building practitioner regitered in the appropriate category. *Refer to Section 5, page 41. Genuine owner-builder are not in the buine of building. They et out to make themelve a home, rather than develop property for invetment purpoe.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 8 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t The fact about being an owner-builder (continued) What are the reponibilitie of an owner-builder? A buyer of your home who find defective building work that did not appear on the required defect report, can make a claim againt you for breach of tatutory warrantie. If the defective work wa carried out by a Regitered Building Practitioner, then you may have a claim againt that practitioner. Owner-builder dometic building inurance only cover ituation where the ownerbuilder i dead, ha diappeared or i inolvent. Owner-builder take on many reponibilitie imilar to a builder, including: Owner-builder need to obtain a certificate of conent. Obtaining all permit required. Superviing building work and/or carrying out all or part of the work themelve. Enuring the work meet relevant building regulation, tandard and other law. Enuring there i a ite ign of reaonable dimenion poted on the property clearly howing: owner-builder name and contact detail along with the detail of your relevant building urveyor, building permit number and iue date. Enuring that a copy of the building permit and one et of approved plan, pecification and document relating to the permit are available for inpection at the building ite. Arranging for building inpection by the relevant building urveyor a required by law at particular tage of the building work. Obtaining an occupancy permit or certificate of final inpection from the relevant building urveyor on completion of work. When elling an owner-built home within ix year the owner-builder will provide dometic building inurance cover and a technical inpection report to the purchaer. You hould contact an appropriate inurance provider for more information on thi proce (ee Owner-Builder contact page 27). If you, a an owner-builder, contract out part of the work to a Regitered Building Practitioner or tradeperon then your reponibilitie may be different (ee Engaging builder and tradepeople, page 23). If you engage a Regitered Building Practitioner to undertake dometic building work, according to the term of your contract, the Regitered Building Practitioner will be reponible for that part of the building work and enuring that the work meet relevant building regulation, tandard and other law. Engaging an unregitered building practitioner may void the validity of any dometic building inurance you obtain OR the dometic building inurance you are required to provide when elling your owner-built home.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 9 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t A an owner-builder you: Will need to obtain an owner-builder certificate of conent from the Building Practitioner Board in order to obtain a building permit to carry out dometic building work where the cot i more than $12,000. Can only obtain a certificate of conent if you or a co-owner of any land have not been iued with a building permit to carry out work a an owner-builder in the previou three year. Exception are: where you have been iued with an owner-builder building permit for building work that relate to the ame dwelling; where the co-owner ha had a building permit for the ame land; and the Board may exempt an applicant in pecial circumtance. Mut reide, continue to reide or intend to reide in the ingle home upon completion of work. Mut be the owner of the property (regitered proprietor on certificate of title). What work can an owner-builder undertake? The Victorian owner-builder certificate of conent legilation relate pecifically to dometic building work. Typical dometic building work include: The erection or contruction of a home, including any aociated work, uch a landcaping, paving, retaining wall, driveway, garage, carport, wimming pool and pa. The renovation, alteration, extenion, improvement or repair of a home. For full definition of dometic building work, refer to the Dometic Building Contract Act 1995 and Dometic Building Contract Regulation 2007. Commercial building work can be undertaken a an owner-builder without the requirement of an owner-builder certificate of conent. The building urveyor you appoint will be able to clarify thi ituation. If you engage a number of builder to contruct variou part of the work and alo do ome mall component yourelf, you ARE an owner-builder. An owner-builder certificate of conent i written approval from the Building Practitioner Board that enable you to obtain a building permit to carry out dometic building work a an owner-builder on your land. A certificate of conent i NOT a guarantee that you will be iued with a building permit.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 10 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Undertanding the building proce Starting out on a building project For thoe who don t undertand the building control ytem, there can be many pitfall when undertaking a building project. The law relating to building i not jut deigned for new houe or major renovation; it cover many maller project uch a: Retaining wall Swimming pool, pa and afety barrier Boundary wall and fence Structural alteration Garage, carport, veranda and pergola. It i ueful to obtain a much information a you can to plan your project. You can viit the Conumer Affair Victoria webite at www.conumer.vic.gov.au for information about managing your project cot, getting quote and electing tradepeople. The building permit proce APPLICANT Chooe a building urveyor Apply for a building permit (to MBS or appointed PBS) Submit all required document eg. plan, pecification, oil report, certificate of title, owner-builder certificate of conent. It i eential that an owner-builder undertand the law and regulation that apply to building in Victoria. Building urveyor A building urveyor i a profeional trained in undertanding the building control proce. He or he i authoried to ae building plan with a view to enuring they are compliant with the Building Act 1993, the Building Regulation 2006 and the Building Code of Autralia. In addition to having recognied qualification, a building urveyor mut be regitered with the Building Practitioner Board and mut have appropriate inurance. Municipal Building Surveyor (MBS) BUILDING SURVEYOR OR Building urveyor end notification to council Ae application Iue building permit Appoint a Private Building Surveyor (PBS) Pay fee and levy Inpection at footing tage when the frame i up on completion Commence contruction Note: Permit may not be iued if work doe not comply. * There i an application proce for an occupancy permit. Iue occupancy permit or certificate of final inpection *
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 11 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Building urveyor are reponible for enuring building are afe, acceible and energy efficient and therefore have an impact on the deign, planning and functionality of building. Until 1994, local council were the ole provider of building permit in Victoria. New legilation wa introduced at that time to enable competition and allow Private Building Surveyor to iue building permit. Thi ytem i known a private certification and conumer have the choice of engaging a Private Building Surveyor or a Municipal Building Surveyor. To find a building urveyor contact your local council or the Autralian Intitute of Building Surveyor, or viit: www.vba.vic.gov.au Municipal Building Surveyor Municipal Building Surveyor have the ame reponibilitie a thoe decribed above. They alo enforce community afety and building legilation in their municipality. Private Building Surveyor Private Building Surveyor are independent profeional. They have the ame power to iue building permit and occupancy permit a Municipal Building Surveyor. They alo have the ame reponibility a Municipal Building Surveyor to adminiter and enforce the Building Regulation regarding the project for which they have been appointed. There are alo ome pecial requirement placed on Private Building Surveyor that help enure an integrated ytem of building control within the municipality. Thee include requirement for the Private Building Surveyor to notify council of their appointment on a building project within even day of that appointment and a requirement to lodge copie of all permit and aociated documentation within even day of iue. Council maintain an up-to-date publicly acceible regiter of all building work in the municipality. What doe a building urveyor do? A building urveyor iue building and occupancy permit, building notice and building order. Your building urveyor will have expert knowledge o it i a good idea to get a urveyor involved early in your project. Thi may ave you ome time and money a their advice can mean that you do not have to make ignificant change to your deign in order to meet the Regulation. Once appointed, it i the building urveyor role to: evaluate and ae the plan enure you comply with the Regulation iue the building permit conduct inpection of the building work iue an occupancy permit or certificate of final inpection once the work i finihed. A building urveyor may alo: deal with variation to the building permit ait you to eek a dipenation from your local council in certain circumtance.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 12 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Permit It i a eriou offence if you commence building work without the correct permit in place and you may be compelled to demolih illegal building. Never rely on informal advice on planning or building permit. What permit are required? You may need a planning permit, a building permit, an occupancy permit, or all three. Your architect or builder can give you ome initial advice about the permit required but it i eential to get independent advice before commencing your project. Your local council i the bet place to advie whether or not you will need permit. Planning permit The Planning and Environment Act 1987 i the legal bai for the town planning ytem in Victoria. Under that Act, every municipality in Victoria maintain a planning cheme to control the ue and development of land. Each of thee planning cheme apply zone, uch a reidential zone and indutrial zone, and overlay uch a heritage and vegetation protection. Thee have a bearing on the kind of building and ue the municipality allow within it different area. Many new building, addition and renovation require a planning permit a the firt tep in the contruction proce. In ome circumtance, even imple project uch a fence may require planning permit. Application for planning permit are made to the local council. Before undertaking any building or contruction work, a good firt tep i to talk to a council planning officer. It i the planning department in your local council that determine whether or not you are going to need a planning permit. Building permit The Building Act 1993 i the legal bai for building in Victoria. Building law tipulate that all building work require a building permit unle the work i pecifically exempted under the regulation. A building permit i a written permiion from a regitered building urveyor certifying that your plan comply with the Building Regulation. You mut have thi permit before any work can begin. Law apply to alteration, demolition and removal. So alway check with a regitered building urveyor to ee if you are going to need a building permit. Special proviion apply to owner-builder and thee are dicued later. Applying for a building permit Before applying for a building permit, you need to chooe a building urveyor. Chooe either a municipal building urveyor or a private building urveyor. To obtain a building permit, you complete an application form and ubmit it to your building urveyor. The architect or builder can apply on your behalf for the permit but you mut firt authorie the architect or builder in writing to make the application. Do not ign a blank form authoriing other to obtain all permit for you and alway check that a permit ha been iued before any work commence.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 13 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Legilation covering the iuing of building permit tipulate that you have to atify your building urveyor that your builder i regitered with the Building Practitioner Board if your project i worth more than $5,000. If the work i worth more than $16,000, you will need to atify your building urveyor that your builder ha the correct inurance. Regitration detail of Regitered Building Practitioner can be checked on the Victorian Building Authority webite at www.vba.vic.gov.au via etoolbox. Certificate of final inpection A certificate of final inpection i iued for extenion or alteration to exiting home. The need for a certificate of final inpection will be indicated on your building permit. Occupancy permit An occupancy permit ignifie that a building urveyor ha approved your building a being uitable for occupation. Compliance Certificate The Victorian Building Authority regulate the plumbing indutry through licening and Compliance Certificate ytem. Conumer hould enure that they ight the plumbing practitioner licene card prior to commencing work. Only licened plumbing practitioner can iue a Compliance Certificate on completion of work. It i compulory for plumbing practitioner to iue conumer with Compliance Certificate for every plumbing job of more than $750 value, including labour, material and appliance. Thi i compulory even if the cutomer purchae the material themelve. Compliance Certificate mut be iued to conumer and lodged by practitioner for all completed plumbing work including the intallation of underground anitary drain, ga pipe, ga appliance intallation, ga converion work and cooling tower, regardle of value of the work. A a conumer, enure you are aware of when certificate are required and alway chooe a licened plumbing practitioner. It i an offence to occupy a new building, including a home or apartment, without an occupancy permit and may void your inurance. It i the owner-builder reponibility to get the right permit.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 14 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Dometic hed and garage Building a hed may eem like a traightforward tak but you mut be aware of the rule with regard to thi type of building and comply with them. Entering into arrangement with hed retailer who ugget that you become an ownerbuilder but manage the project for you (ie. organiing builder and plumber) may be putting YOU at rik. If you are contructing a hed or garage you need to be aware of and comply with the following: Mot dometic hed and garage require a building permit. Some hed and garage with a floor area of le than 10 m 2 may be exempt. If a building permit i required and the building work, including upply and intallation, cot more than $5,000, unle you are an owner-builder, you mut ue a Regitered Building Practitioner to carry out the work. A major dometic building contract mut be entered into with the Regitered Building Practitioner for work over $5,000. If the cot of the work (including labour and material) exceed $16,000 the builder i required to provide dometic building inurance. The intallation of roof heeting, flahing, guttering and downpipe on a hed, regardle of cale, mut be carried out by a Regitered or Licened Plumbing Practitioner if it i connected to a tormwater collection or dipoal ytem. If the value of the roof plumbing work exceed $750, a compliance certificate i required from a Licened Plumbing Practitioner. Thing you hould look out for include: Shed companie initing you be an owner-builder. Be aware that a an owner-builder if you ell your property within ix and a half year of completion of the work you mut have the building inpected and provide a report to the purchaer. You are alo reponible for providing dometic building inurance to the new owner if you ell within ix year of completion of the work. Companie that plit their quote or init you pay for other trade eparately from upply of the hed kit. If the company upplie the material and arrange the other trade and the total cot of the work i more than $5,000, they mut be Regitered Building Practitioner. Companie reviing down your quote to under $16,000 o they do not have to provide you with dometic building inurance. Enure a plumbing compliance certificate i upplied where the cot of roof work, including labour and the material cot, i more than $750. Connection of downpipe from the roof to water tank and the tormwater drainage ytem mut alo be done by a licened plumber and a compliance certificate hould be provided; acertain if thi i included in any quote. Note: By uing a Regitered Building Practitioner and Licened or Regitered Plumber to work on your hed, you protect yourelf AND enure the work i to a high tandard. If the propoed building work relate to a hed or garage on vacant land, you may not be able to undertake the work a an owner-builder unle you intend to build a home and live on the property.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 15 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Buhfire conideration Victoria ha mapped buhfire prone area. There are many precaution you can take to help protect your home and maximie your afety. If planning to build or renovate, key tep include enuring an appropriate building ite location, uing uitable building material, enuring proximity to independent water reource, managing the vegetation urrounding the building and clearing debri cloe to the building. It i alo important to enure your property i acceible for emergency vehicle and ha a water upply for fire fighting. The Victorian Building Authority recommend the following to help reduce the rik of damage to home in the event of a buhfire: Ue building material appropriate for the condition and your Buhfire Attack Level (BAL) Remove any overhanging tree branche, take out hrub over one metre high next to or below window, keep gra hort and clean up other debri near your building ite or home that could eaily catch fire to help provide ome defendable pace Follow the tep-by-tep guide to protecting your home from fire by downloading the Country Fire Authority (CFA) Fire Ready Kit from www. cfa.vic.gov.au or phoning the Victorian Buhfire Information Line on 1800 240 667 for a copy. Enure you have a Buhfire Survival Plan in place and practie it regularly. Get involved in community meeting about fire preparedne in the neighbourhood. Go to the CFA webite for meeting detail. If you have a full rainwater tank near your home, enure it i acceible. Buhfire Attack Level (BAL) The aim of the reidential building tandard for buhfire protection i to improve the ability of a building to withtand a buhfire attack. Thi will provide greater protection for the occupant who may be heltering inide while the fire front pae. A great deal of cientific modelling ha gone into the tandard. The chart on page 16 outline how the baeline data, which i defined a a Buhfire Attack Level (BAL), determine the type of contruction required. The BAL take into conideration a number of factor including the Fire Danger Index, the lope of the land, type of urrounding vegetation and it proximity to any building. Buhfire Prone Area Map Victoria ha now developed Buhfire Prone Area (BPA) map. The buhfire prone area have been determined uing the mot recent available cientific information and data. The map can be viewed at www.land.vic.gov.au If your propoed reidential building i within a BPA then a BAL aement i required. If that BAL i determined a low, the contruction requirement mut till meet a minimum of BAL 12.5 a detailed in AS 3959 2009. The reidential building tandard for buhfire protection applie to deignated buhfire prone area. Houe aeed a BAL-Low that are in a buhfire prone area will need to meet a minimum contruction requirement of BAL 12.5.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 16 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Buhfire conideration (continued) Ember attack and the temperature (radiant heat) of a buhfire not only threaten building and propertie but are often untoppable. Buhfire burn at very high temperature and the February 2009 fire have meant a reviit of the baeline data around radiant heat level. It i important to be aware that lo of property due to buhfire i ometime unpreventable. Further information i available at www.vba.vic.gov.au Buhfire Attack Level under the Autralian Standard 3959-2009 Buhfire Attack level (BAL) BAL LOW BAL 12.5 BAL 19 BAL 29 BAL 40 BAL FZ Decription of predicted buhfire attack and level of expoure There i inufficient rik to warrant pecific contruction requirement Ember attack Increaing level of ember attack and burning debri ignited by windborne ember together with increaing heat flux between 12.5 and 19 kw m 2 Increaing level of ember attack and burning debri ignited by windborne ember together with increaing heat flux between 19 and 29 kw m 2 Increaing level of ember attack and burning debri ignited by windborne ember together with increaing heat flux with the increaed likelihood of expoure to flame Direct expoure to flame from fire front in addition to heat flux and ember attack
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 17 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t 6 Star Standard 6 Star Standard applie to new home, renovation, alteration and addition All new home, home renovation, alteration and addition need to comply with a 6 Star Standard. home aving a further $100 off their energy bill each year. Thi i only an average aving, with reident who ue their energy feature in their home wiely aving even more. Conider deign option that go beyond minimum regulatory requirement: it pay in the long run. The 6 Star Standard applie to the thermal performance of a home, renovation or addition, plu the intallation of either a olar hot water ytem or a rainwater tank for toilet fluhing. Some imple building work that doe not require a building permit will not be affected by the regulation. However, all new home and building project involving home extenion and major renovation will need to comply with 6 Star. A 6 Star energy efficiency rating applie to your home building envelope it roof, wall, floor and window. 6 Star requirement alo include efficiency tandard for lighting but not plug in appliance. Meeting 6 Star compliance i not difficult: it about good deign, particularly at the planning tage. So talk to your building profeional early to take advantage of the benefit, uch a increaed comfort, aving money on energy bill and making your home more reilient to climate change. Carefully electing your ite o your home orientation take advantage of olar energy can add up to 1 Star to the rating. 6 Star home are projected to ue 24 per cent le energy through heating and cooling compared to 5 Star home. Thi will ee Victorian with 6 Star
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 18 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Swimming pool Swimming pool and pa New wimming pool and pa in Victoria generally require a building permit. Safety barrier in accordance with the National Contruction Code Serie and Autralian Standard AS1926 Swimming pool afety are alo required. Victoria already lead the nation in pool afety by requiring maintenance of pool afety barrier with heavy penaltie more than $7,000 applying. Safety barrier refer to a fence, wall, gate or creen, and include gate, window, lock, latche, hinge and elf-cloing device attached to them. Safety barrier are required for in-ground wimming pool, jacuzzi, indoor wimming pool, above-ground wimming pool and pa. Thi include inflatable and portable unit that are capable of holding water greater than 300mm in depth. Drowning i the mot common caue of preventable death for children under five in Victoria. Pool fencing reduce the rik of drowning to about one quarter of that of drowning in an unfenced pool. While pool fencing i demontrated a being effective, parent or other adult hould alway upervie young children in a wimming pool. Owner contructing a new wimming pool and pa are required to: have a afety barrier for all wimming pool and pa capable of containing a depth of water greater than 300mm obtain a building permit for the contruction of the pool and barrier complete the barrier within ix month of building work commencing on the wimming pool or pa. engage a building practitioner, who hould be a Regitered Building Practitioner if the value of the work exceed $5,000 (including labour and material) maintain the barrier and any elf-cloing and elf-latching gate in good working order (all gate are to have a elf-cloing, elf-latching device - regardle of when the pool wa built). never prop open any gate providing acce to the wimming pool or pa. Engage a Regitered Building Practitioner to carry out the work if the value of the work exceed $5,000 (including labour and material).
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 19 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Enure that indoor wimming pool and pa have elf-cloing, elf-latching door that wing away from the pool area. Acce from dwelling i not permitted directly into the pool area via external door. Non-compliance with the Regulation rik live, and pool owner could incur a fine more than $7,000. The reponibility of wimming pool and pa owner to maintain and ue afety barrier can help ave live. Remember when children are near water, adult uperviion i eential. What are afety barrier NOT required for? Structure not ued principally for wimming, paddling or wading including bird bath, fih pond, fountain, dam and water upply/torage tank Swimming pool or pa not capable of containing a depth of water greater than 300mm Inflatable wimming pool (typically toddler or wading pool) not capable of containing a depth of water greater than 300mm Spa and bath inide a building that are ued for peronal hygiene uch a a pa bath in a bathroom. Regularly maintain gate and fence Enure all gate providing acce to a pool or a pa have elf-cloing and elf-latching device that work. Enure no tree branche, pool pump, pot plant or other item which could be ued to climb over the barrier are within a 900mm radiu of the gate or fence. Make ure any fence (epecially boundary timber paling fence) are till in good repair and non-climbable. Enure all gate that provide acce to the wimming pool or pa area are cloed at all time, except when entering or leaving the pool or pa area. Compliance and enforcement The contruction of a new pool and the aociated afety barrier are the reponibility of the peron carrying out the work. After a complaint, the relevant building urveyor can take enforcement action. The Municipal Building Surveyor of your local council ha the power to act againt owner and occupier of propertie where wimming pool and pa afety barrier do not comply with the Building Regulation or have not been maintained.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 20 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Certificate of conent What i a certificate of conent? If you carry out dometic building work valued over $12,000 without a certificate of conent or a building permit you may be proecuted. Maximum penaltie range up to $60,000. An owner-builder certificate of conent i a written document from the Building Practitioner Board that enable you to obtain a building permit to carry out dometic building work a an owner-builder on your land. When i a certificate of conent required? Landowner who intend to apply for a building permit to carry out dometic building work that cot more than $12,000 in relation to a ingle home a an owner-builder mut provide a certificate of conent to the relevant building urveyor. You will need to obtain ubequent certificate of conent for any additional building work (coting over $12,000) on the ame property. A certificate of conent i valid for three year from the date it i iued. When i a certificate of conent not required? If you intend to carry out dometic building work a an owner-builder that cot $12,000 or le, you do not require a certificate of conent in order to obtain a building permit. If you are a regitered dometic or commercial builder, or a regitered demoliher with the Building Practitioner Board, or a regitered architect with the Architect Regitration Board of Victoria, you do not require a certificate of conent in order to carry out work a an owner-builder. If you engage a builder for the entire project then you are not an owner-builder. The builder need to be regitered if the work cot over $5,000 and provide dometic building inurance if the work i valued over $16,000. Be aware that a eparate certificate of conent i required each time you make an application for a building permit. Each application for a certificate of conent mut be accompanied by the application fee.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 21 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Applying for a certificate of conent To be eligible for a certificate of conent you mut: Be an individual that i either: the owner of the land (future ettlement of the land doe not atify the definition of owner) a co-owner of the land the director of the body corporate (company) that own the land and have written authority from the body corporate to apply and carry out the work 1 the beneficiary of the trut the land i the ubject of and have written authority from the trutee to apply and carry out the work 2. Be lited on the certificate of title or regiter earch tatement a a regitered proprietor. Reide in the dwelling and continue to reide, or intend to reide there upon completion of work. Be undertaking dometic building work which relate to a ingle dwelling/home. Be undertaking dometic building work over the value of $12,000. In completing your application, you hould undertand that: A complete application may take two to three week to be proceed. You mut enure your application i complete and required documentation provided: Application ubmitted at the Victorian Building Authority office are for drop off only (application will not be aeed at reception). The Victorian Building Authority will not copy document on your behalf. An incomplete application will require further information from the applicant. All application are ubmitted to the Building Practitioner Board for a deciion. The deciion will be ent to the nominated email addre in Section 1 of the application form. 1 Body corporate (company) director who apply for a certificate of conent mut alo reide and continue to reide in the dwelling, or intend to reide there. 2 Trut beneficiarie who apply for a certificate of conent mut alo reide and continue to reide in the dwelling, or intend to reide there. A an owner-builder you can only obtain a certificate of conent if you have not been iued with a building permit to carry out work a an owner-builder in the previou three year. The exception to thi i where the permit wa in relation to or ancillary to the dwelling on the ame land that the application refer to. The three year period i calculated from the date of iue of the owner-builder building permit and not from the date of iue of the certificate of conent.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 22 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Applying for a certificate of conent (continued) Appealing againt a deciion of the Building Practitioner Board You may appeal to the Victorian Civil and Adminitrative Tribunal (VCAT) if the Building Practitioner Board: refue to iue you with a certificate of conent; or fail to make a deciion on your application within a reaonable time. VCAT will conider your appeal and in making a deciion may agree with, et aide, or vary the Building Practitioner Board deciion. Appeal mut be made within 60 day of the deciion by the Building Practitioner Board. If the Building Practitioner Board deciion i et aide, VCAT may: put in place it own deciion require the Building Practitioner Board to reconider your application in accordance with any direction or recommendation that it conider appropriate. If the appeal i againt the Building Practitioner Board failure to make a deciion on your application for a certificate of conent, then the Building Appeal Board may exercie the Building Practitioner Board power to either iue or refue to iue the certificate of conent. VCAT can be contacted by phone on 9628 9999 or by going to their webite www.vcat.vic.gov.au
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 23 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Engaging builder and tradepeople Requirement of an owner-builder A an owner-builder, you may: undertake part of the building work yourelf, except in area that require licened tradepeople, uch a electrician and plumber (unle you are an electrician or plumber) contract out ome of the work to Regitered Building Practitioner or tradepeople. A dometic building contract mut include certain minimum term, a defined under the Dometic Building Contract Act 1995. Tradepeople carrying out the following dometic building work a a ingle trade only do not need to offer you a major dometic building contract for work over $5,000: Attaching external fixture (including awning, ecurity creen, inect creen and balutrade) Electrical work Glazing Intallation of floor covering Inulating Painting Platering Plumbing work 3 Tiling (wall and floor) Erecting a chain wire fence to encloe a tenni court Erecting a mat, pole, antenna or imilar tructure If you enter into a contract with a peron to complete building work that i more than $5,000 you hould enure they are a Regitered Building Practitioner AND that they provide you with a major dometic building contract. 3 A defined in S221C of the Building Act 1993. If your building work i more than $16,000 the Regitered Building Practitioner you engage mut enter into a contract with you AND take out dometic building inurance. If you engage an unregitered building practitioner you may not be able to get dometic building inurance OR the owner-builder warranty inurance.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 24 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Engaging builder and tradepeople (continued) It i YOUR reponibility to notify the relevant building urveyor with the detail of the different building practitioner and tradepeople engaged at the variou tage of the building project. If you engage a peron to carry out any building work for which the contract price i more than $16,000, that peron mut enure that the work i covered by dometic building inurance. The detail of the inurance are required to be included on the dometic building contract by the Regitered Building Practitioner. If you engage thi peron before the building permit i iued, you mut notify the relevant building urveyor when you make the application for the building permit. If you engage thi peron after a building permit ha been iued, you mut give the relevant building urveyor written notice of the engagement within 14 day, including the building practitioner regitration detail. If you do not comply with thi requirement, you may be proecuted by the Victorian Building Authority. If more than one trade i carried out by the ame tradeperon for more than $5,000 (for example, the platerer alo doe the painting), they will be required to be regitered and enter into a major dometic building contract. For work valued over $16,000, they mut alo provide dometic building inurance. Regitration detail of Regitered Building Practitioner can be checked on the Victorian Building Authority webite at www.vba.vic.gov.au via etoolbox. Tip for reolving dipute Collect all the evidence you need to back up your claim uch a document, receipt, photograph, record of converation and warrantie. Reearch your right and reponibilitie. Check the building and renovating ection at www.conumer.vic.gov.au or call Building Advice and Conciliation Victoria (BACV) on 1300 557 559. Act quickly on your complaint. Delay could affect your right. Contact the building practitioner or tradeperon involved in the dipute. It i bet to make face to face or telephone contact firt to find out the building practitioner immediate reaction to your concern. Alway follow up by letter or e-mail to enure you have written evidence of the complaint. Remain calm, don t raie your voice or become argumentative. If an agreement i reached, be ure to attach it to your dometic building contract, igned by all partie involved. It hould include the action that will be taken, who will do what, how it will be done, the timeframe and agreed payment. A tradeperon carrying out more than one trade (platering and painting for example) on your behalf hould be regitered, enter into a dometic building contract with you and provide you with inurance where required.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 25 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Selling your property There are owner-builder requirement under the Building Act If you ell your owner-built home within ix and a half year after the dometic building work ha been completed (ie. from the date of iue of your occupancy permit or certificate of final inpection), you mut obtain a defect report by a precribed practitioner regarding the dometic building work. The report mut not be older than ix month and a copy mut alo be provided to the homebuyer. You may alo need to obtain dometic building inurance covering the dometic building work and provide the homebuyer with a certificate of the inurance. Pleae note that the inurance may only come into effect if you die, diappear or are inolvent.* If you ell your owner-built home on or after ix year, but within ix and a half year of completion 4 of building work, you need only provide a defect report. A buyer of your home who find defective building work that did not appear on the required defect report can make a claim againt you for breach of tatutory warrantie. If the defective work wa carried out by a Regitered Building Practitioner, then you may have a claim againt that practitioner. Dometic building inurance only cover ituation where the owner-builder i dead, ha diappeared or i inolvent. Statutory warrantie apply Aurance that all material ued during dometic building work were good and uitable for the purpoe for which they were ued and that, unle otherwie tated in the contract, thoe material were new Aurance that the dometic building work wa carried out in accordance with all law and legal requirement, including the Building Act 1993 and the Building Regulation 2006. Note: You may apply to the Victorian Civil and Adminitrative Tribunal (VCAT) to be exempt from any of thee requirement if: there are exceptional circumtance; or full compliance with thee requirement i impoible and / or would caue undue hardhip. Ramification for non-compliance with the requirement If you enter into a contract to ell your owner-built home without complying with the requirement to obtain a defect report and inurance in repect of the dwelling and et out the warrantie in the contract of ale, your ale could be at rik. The contract of ale i not automatically void, but i conidered to be voidable. You may alo be proecuted, with a maximum penalty of around $12,000. You cannot contract out of thee requirement. They will apply even if you and the purchaer agree otherwie. An owner-builder can be reponible for their owner-built project for up to 10 year. A purchaer ha a right to walk away from the ale at any time prior to ettlement if an owner-builder doe not meet the report and inurance requirement. If you ell your owner-built home within ix and a half year after dometic building work ha been completed, the contract of ale i required to contain the following warrantie: Aurance that all dometic building work carried out in relation to the contruction by you or on your behalf wa completed in a proper and workmanlike manner *You hould contact an appropriate inurance provider for more information on thi proce (ee owner-builder contact page 27) 4 Completion date i from the iue date of your occupancy permit or certificate of final inpection.
o w n e r - b u i l d e r 26 a p p l i c a t i o n k i t Proecution and enforcement If the building urveyor refue to iue you with a building permit you can appeal to the Building Appeal Board againt the refual. If thing go wrong A an owner-builder, if you don t adhere to the building permit, the Building Act 1993 (the Act) and the Building Regulation 2006 you could be guilty of a criminal offence that carrie a maximum penalty of a fine of up to $60,000. Therefore, before you build a an owner-builder, you hould carefully conider whether you are willing and able to accept the reponibilitie and rik involved, including: Where a building permit i required, you mut obtain one before building work tart. If you don t, you could be guilty of an offence. Any change to your plan might alo require planning approval or an amendment to your planning permit from your Council before you do the building work. You mut enure that all building work i in accordance with the building permit, the Act and the Regulation. Change to plan or building work after you obtain a building permit may require amendment to the building permit, or you may need to apply for a new one (you hould dicu thi with your building urveyor). In addition to a poible $60,000 fine, your building urveyor could iue a building notice if you or another builder carrie out building work contrary to a building permit, the Act, or the Regulation. A the home owner, you mut comply with the building notice, even if you didn t do the building work. If you don t comply with the building notice, the building urveyor could iue a building order. The building urveyor can iue building order to top work or require minor work to be done, even if a building notice han t been iued. A the home owner, you mut comply with thee building order. In emergencie, the Municipal Building Surveyor can iue an emergency building order, even if a building notice han t been iued. You can appeal to the Building Appeal Board againt the deciion to iue a building notice, or make a building order, a building order to top work, a building order for minor work, or the refual to cancel an emergency building order. including with your building urveyor A outlined on page 12 (Permit), before applying for a building permit you need to appoint a building urveyor, whoe role i to enure that building work i in line with the building permit, the Act and the Regulation. If you want to bring the building urveyor engagement to an end, you need to contact the Victorian Building Authority. Remember you can only appoint one building urveyor at a time.