An owner builder should provide you with a notice in relation to the work carried out on the property under an owner builder permit if the sale is within six years of the completion date of the owner builder work.
When should the notice be given and what should it contain?
The notice should be given PRIOR to the contract of sale being signed. The notice should contain:
Details of the domestic building work performed
The name of the person (permit holder) who performed the work
A statement confirming the work was performed under an owner builder permit
Provide the following notice - "Warning - The building work to which this notice relates is NOT covered by insurance under the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991".
Notice in duplicate
The notice must be given in duplicate and you should sign one copy of the notice and return it to the vendor on, or before, signing a contract.
What if the notice is not given?
Independent legal advice should be sought where a contract of sale has been signed and no notice has been provided by the vendor or where the property has been purchased and no notice has been provided by the vendor.
Subsequent Owners
If you on-sell the property within six years of the completion date of the owner builder work being carried out you will need to provide the same notice to any potential purchasers before the contract of sale is signed by the purchaser.
How do I access information about an Owner Builder Permit?
To determine whether work on a property you wish to purchase has been performed under an Owner Builder permit, you can search for details relating to an Owner Builder permit through two sources:
Using BSA's Online Licence Search
Completing a Certified Owner Builder Search form and returning it to BSA
Please note BSA cannot release information relating to owner builder permits issued prior to 21 December 2007 as the Queensland Building Services Authority and other Legislation Amendment Act 2007 did not come into affect until that date and BSA cannot release information relating to owner builder permits which are no longer active, as per section 103A of the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991.
Related Pages
Online Licence Search (select Owner Builder in search type option)
