Builders Warranties

Under the Domestic Building Contracts Act, statutory warranties as to quality of workmanship are deemed to be given by all builders carrying out domestic building work under domestic building contracts, and these obligations cannot be negatived by anything in the building contract.  Domestic building work includes the construction of a house or renovation or alterations to a house.  What is not always understood is that under the Domestic Building Contracts Act the benefit of these warranties is available to subsequent owners of the property (not just the original owner who had the work done) as if the subsequent owner had been a party to the original building contract.  Unfortunately, what the Act does not address is the position of a subsequent owner if the original owner, whether before or after selling the property, does a deal with the builder, perhaps in the context of some wider dispute, which involves releasing the builder from all liability under the building contract.  The outcome in such a situation is uncertain at the present time.