Domestic building work contract or payment dispute

Scenario 2 – Home owner vs contractor

Lee and Tio hired a contractor to install new flooring throughout the house. The contract allowed seven weeks to complete the job. Lee and Tio approved a variation to extend the contract time by an extra two weeks. It is now 12 weeks, and the work is still not finished, and they are losing money because of the delay as they can't move into the property until the work is finished.

Lee and Tio are eligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because all of the following apply:

• they are the property owners
• the work is domestic building work
• the contract has not been completed.

What outcome can Lee and Tio expect?

One of our Building Inspectors will review Lee and Tio's submission and contact them and their contractor to try to facilitate an agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it. Our role is to try to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved.

If both parties cannot agree, and as there is no issue with the quality of work, we would not conduct an inspection. At the end of the process, both parties will receive a letter from the QBCC allowing them to apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) if they want to commence a building dispute.

Scenario 3 – Home owner vs contractor

Chen is getting a new kitchen installed in his apartment and is unhappy with the colour of the new benchtops and does not believe the benchtops are the agreed colour.

Chen is eligible to use our dispute resolution service because both of the following apply:

• he is the property owner
• the contract has not been completed.

What outcome can Chen expect?

One of our Building Inspectors will review Chen's submission and contact both Chen and his contractor to try to facilitate an acceptable agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it. Our role is to try to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved.

If both parties cannot agree, and as there is no issue with the quality of work, we would not conduct an inspection. The case will be closed and both parties will receive a letter from QBCC allowing them to apply to QCAT if they want to commence a building dispute.

Scenario 4 – Commercial lessee vs contractor

Richard leases a commercial building for his restaurant. He is getting a new fit out to upgrade the kitchen and has received an invoice from the contractor for extra labour costs. Richard is disputing the payment as he did not receive a written variation request from the contractor before the work was done.

Richard is ineligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because

• he is not the property owner
• the work is not domestic building work.

The case will be closed. Both Richard and the builder contractor will then receive a letter from QBCC allowing them to apply to QCAT if they want to commence a building dispute.

If he wants to apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to resolve his dispute, QCAT will require him to apply to have his complaint assessed by the QBCC before they will accept an application to decide a building dispute.

Scenario 5 - Principal contractor vs home owner

Cameron was hired to build a deck. His client is disputing a variation regarding the type of decking to be used, as he believes the variation was not agreed prior to the work being done. 

Cameron is eligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because all of the following apply:

• he is the principal contractor
• the work is domestic building work
• the contract has not been completed. 

What outcome can Cameron expect? 

One of our Building Inspectors will review Cameron's submission and contact both Cameron and his client. We will not conduct an inspection as there are no allegations of defective work. 

We will call Cameron and his client to try to facilitate an acceptable agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it. Our role is to try to facilitate an agreement between the parties involved. 

If both parties cannot agree, and as there is no issue with the quality of work, we will not conduct an inspection. The case will be closed and both parties will receive a letter from QBCC allowing them to apply to QCAT if they want to commence a building dispute. 

Scenario 6 – Principal contractor vs subcontractor

Ramesh was hired to repair and repaint a residential driveway. Ramesh did the repairs himself and contracted the painting to a specialist painting company. Halfway through the job, the painters submitted a variation for extra cost to cover more paint. Ramesh does not agree with the variation, and the painters have stopped work.

Ramesh is eligible to apply to use our dispute resolution service because all of the following apply:

• Ramesh is the principal contractor
• the work is domestic building work
• the contract has not been completed. 

What outcome can Ramesh expect?

One of our Building Inspectors will review Ramesh's submission and call both Ramesh and the painting contractor to try to facilitate an acceptable agreement. If this happens, the case will be finalised. The QBCC is not a party to the agreement and we do not formally document it.

If both parties cannot agree, as there is no issue with the quality of the work, we would not conduct an inspection. The case will be closed and both parties will receive a letter from the QBCC allowing them to apply to QCAT if they want to commence a building dispute. 

Ramesh may then wish to seek legal advice and/or apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) for further assistance.