Buying a house is an exciting time, especially if it is your very first property purchase. It is therefore, very disappointing if you discover building defects once everyone settles in and wants to enjoy the house.
In order to begin to address this issue you need to obtain a copy of an occupancy permit. The reason for that is that the builder is only responsible for rectification of defects for a period of 10 years of the date of the occupancy certificate (or a certificate of final inspection).
It is very important that you locate this information as quickly as possible due to the fact that once the 10 year period expires you will no longer be able to have the builder address the defects. If you are well within the 10 year period, you need to contact the builder and advise them of the issues. The builder will attend your property for the purposes of inspection and will advise you if the items are defective and of any proposal.
If the builder is not willing to attend the property, you will need to lodge an Application with the Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria (DBDRV) at https://www.dbdrv.vic.gov.au/. This is a free service, however, it is preferable to obtain legal advice before lodging any application to a dispute resolution body.
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