Question: My husband is a qualified and licensed builder with an ABN. Can he carry out repairs to our lot?
We are unit owners within a strata group. There are some cracking repairs to be done within our lot. We have been given permission to find our own contractor, and the committee has allocated us some money to use for these repairs.
My question is, can we do these repairs ourselves? My husband is a qualified and licensed builder, and he is able to provide an ABN for his services.
There have been some issues with the strata manager, and ill will about our request to do the repairs but I am hoping to clear things up.
Answer: There is no legislative prevention on your husband doing the works if qualified, provided all interests are declared and the Committee is in agreement.
The answer to your question here really lies within the context of what permission was given? How was it worded, any limitations, etc? Also though there is a responsibility on yourself to be transparent and declare all interests.
If I were in your position, I would return to the Committee and give them all the details of your Husband and ask them to clarify whether or not they would be accepting of your Husband undertaking these works, qualifying for them that he is indeed licensed and qualified/ insured to do this work. To ensure there are no issues, it would always be wise to be as transparent as possible before a project begins. The Committee may see it as a conflict but they may also be happy with the idea of spending less allocated funds if the job can be done cheaper by your partner which has a vested interest in keeping the repair costs as low as possible, but for the same quality of work that others would do. The Committee has a responsibility to ensure the repairs are carried out at a reasonable cost but also to ensure that they are done to a standard that ensures that the works will not need to be carried out again. There is no legislative prevention on your husband doing the works if qualified, provided all interests are declared and the Committee is in agreement.
I can’t comment on any ill will with your Manager but would encourage you to try and discuss this with your Manager and Committee prior to any works commencing and keeping all parties informed. Come prepared with all relevant information – why this is a good option, provide copies of licenses, insurances, etc but also be prepared that the Committee may disagree. Your Manager is there as a guide and third party liaison, they are there to assist you but not make decisions for the group, that is done by your Committee or unit Owners.
This post appears in Strata News #445.
Tony Johnson Stratarama E: Tony@stratarama.com.au P: 08 8276 0426