What is a building expert report?

A Building Expert Report will identify claimable defects under a building contract as well as non compliance with approved plans and specifications. The Expert Report will cover all issues and often more than what is expected once an Expert is appointed to fully inspect a property for defects.

What is provided with a Building Expert Report?

An Expert Witness Building Report will identify claimable defects under a building contract as well as non-compliance with approved plans and specifications.

Under the Home Building Act building minor defects have a building warranty of two years and major defects 6 years.

A brief report may be provided if there are minor issues and builder wishes to rectify, otherwise a full report is required if the matter is to go before NCAT (NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal) or the Courts to substantiate the defects in the dispute.

The reports for NCAT or Court are very complex with each defect examined against the various Codes and Standards and technical extracts and the report provided in a specific format so that all the defects and issues are clearly set out. Inadequate or basic reports are unlikely to be accepted into evidence.

One or more site visits are required to investigate and analyse the defects and to take high quality photographs which are used to support the findings.

Technical details and extracts from Standards/Codes are compiled and if required the cost to rectify. Each defect is ratified against the codes and standards, and an expert opinion provided.

What is an NCAT report?

NCAT (The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal) provides specialist tribunal and resolution services. If a case is with NCAT, an official NCAT report is required for them to make decisions. In the case of building and construction, a building expert is required to provide all relevant information in order for them to make a decision on whether building works are defective.

That involves substantiation of each defect claimed, whether major structural or minor. Reference is to be made to the relevant Standard or Building Code as well as standard good building practices. NCAT usually require that a Scott Schedule be included with an Experts Report to assist in the Tribunal deciding on the issues within an Expert Report.

What building defects does an expert witness uncover?

There are a range of areas in construction where building defects can occur. These can be due to;

• Sub-standard building practices
• Not complying with approved building plans
• Not meeting requirements of relevant Building Codes
• Use of unsuitable or non-compliant building materials
• Lack of Council approval or supervision during construction
• Unlicenced builders and contractors

All of these and more can result in minor or major building defects creating serious problems. Add to this the complexity of possibly having to go through NCAT or Tribunal, and you want to make sure you’re prepared and protected.