Every year, thousands of homes are constructed or renovated in New South Wales. While most building projects are completed successfully, occasionally there may be concerns or unmet expectations that result in a dispute.

Most home building disputes arise because of disagreements between building owners and builders about the appropriate standards and quality of work. Although the minimum standards for some aspects of construction are regulated, many aspects are not.

Builders and building owners can help prevent disputes by agreeing on the standards and quality of workmanship appropriate for the project when they enter into the building contract, although they cannot apply standards lower than those regulated by the NSW Government. However, many home building contracts don’t include an agreed scope of work and standards.

The NSW Guide to Standards and Tolerances 2017 (the Guide) has been developed for builders and building owners to use as a convenient reference to the minimum technical standards and quality of work. The Guide provides references to relevant areas of legislation and provides guidance on areas of building standards that are not covered by legislation. Building work that does not meet the standards outlined in the Guide could be considered defective.

The Guide can be used to help resolve disputes about the quality and standards of work. However, it should be understood that this document is intended as a guide only, all other documents stating statutory and contractual requirements take precedence over this Guide.

Source: NSW Government, Fair Trading.