BECOMING AN OWNER BUILDER

BECOMING AN OWNER-BUILDER

An owner-builder is anyone who does owner-builder work and is issued with a permit for that work.

What is owner-builder work?

Owner-builder work is:

any work (including supervising and coordinating) involved in the construction, alteration, repair or addition to a dwelling (which includes a house, terrace, town-house, swimming pool and certain other structures and improvements); and
where the reasonable market cost (including labour and materials exceeds $5,000; and
which relates to a single dwelling or dual occupancy:

i. that requires development consent under Part 4 Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979, or

ii. which is a complying development within the meaning of that Act; and

is by owner of the land (or a person having a prescribed interest in the land) upon which the work is to be carried out.

Who must obtain an Owner-builder Permit?

If you are going to do owner-builder work as described above and you are not the holder of a contractor licence or qualified supervisors certificate issued under the Home Building Act 1989 authorising you to do such work, you must obtain an owner-builder permit.

You will not need a permit (or contractor licence) to do building work (not being specialist work) on your own home if the work is valued at $5,000 or less, or if it does not require approval.

What are my Responsibilities?

As an owner-builder, you are responsible for:

overseeing and supervising all tradespeople,
ordering and delivery of materials, and management of the building site
obtaining all necessary Council and Authority approvals for the work
ensuring that the financial, taxation and insurance requirements of the building work are met, and fully ensuring compliance with all laws,
providing a safe work environment,
ensuring any contractor engaged is appropriately licensed to do the work contracted for.

How do I obtain an Owner-builder Permit?

To obtain an owner-builder permit, you must apply to a Fair Trading Centre and show that:

you are over 18 years old,
you own or have a prescribed interest in the land,
you do or intend to live in the completed home, and you should also provide:

i. a description and address of the proposed work with a copy of plans and council development certificate number or complying certificate number,

ii. an owner-builder permit application fee.

IMPORTANT: The application fee for an owner-builder permit is $100.

NOTE: some local councils ask for proof of an owner-builder permit or contract with a licensed builder before processing a development application. This is not necessary. Some people may not have yet chosen who is to do the work before it has been approved. A DA number is the preferred evidence of what work is to be or has been approved by council, for which the permit is then issued.

What are my Limitations under an Owner-builder Permit?

An owner-builder permit is not a building license. It does not allow you to:

do work other than the project covered by the Development Application or Complying Development number,
do specialist work such as electrical, plumbing, gas fitting, air-conditioning and refrigeration work (unless you hold a license for such work).

Only one owner-builder permit can be issued within any five-year period, unless the application and any earlier permit relate to the same land and to related owner-builder work or unless special circumstances exist.

Education for Owner-builders

As from July 1 2002 applicants for permits for owner-builder work costing more than $12,000 will be required to complete an education course approved by the Director-General of the Department and designed to provide owner-builders with information relating to the Home Building Act, insurance, taxation, building approval and other building related matters.

As of the date of this publication, the Director-General has approved courses offered by TAFE NSW and the Sydney Building Information Centre (SBIC). The TAFE NSW course involves eight hours face to face instruction of the equivalent for distance education. The SBIC course involves approximately thirteen hours face to face instruction. For further information on these approved courses contact TAFE NSW, Tel 1300 131 499 or SBIC, Tel 8303 0527. Other courses may be approved in the future. Contact the Department of Fair Trading for an up-to-date list of approved courses.

Will I Save Money?

You may save on labour costs by undertaking some of the work yourself, but you may not be able to negotiate the bulk discounts on materials that a licensed builder can obtain, or find tradespeople at the price you want, when you want them. Many owner-builders are forced to pay rent while they complete their project and history shows that generally an owner-builder will take longer than a licensed builder.

IMPORTANT: Do your sums before you start and ask yourself if any saving you will make is worth the time and responsibility you must provide.

IMPORTANT: By law all residential building and specialist work valued at over $1,000 must have a contract in writing.

Contracts

As an owner-builder, you will probably be entering into several contracts with different tradespeople.

EXPO INFORMATION DATA SHEET

Your easy guide to Owner/Builder Permits

Department of Fair Trading information on Owner/Builders can be found at the following websites:

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/building/homeowners/becominganownerbuilder.html

Obtaining a permit:

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/building/homeowners/gettingapermit.html

Approved courses:

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/building/homeowners/approvedcourses.html

TAFE Plus - Course in Owner/Builder Information (#1284) - This course is offered at selected TAFE colleges. Participation is by attendance and informal involvement in group question-and-answer sessions. You will receive a certificate upon completion.

More information can be found at:

http://www.buildingcentre.com.au/courses/owner_builder_two.php

The Owner/Builder Certificate is issued on the Second day of the course.

Under the Home Building Act (1989):

If an Owner/Builder undertakes any building or renovations costing over $12,000 they will need to take out Home Owner Warranty Insurance cover if they wish to sell their home within 6 years.

If a contractor undertakes building or renovation work valued at over $12,000 for an Owner/Builder who wants to sell their house within 6 years, that contractor will have to provide the owner/builder with Home Owner Warranty Insurance cover.

http://www.tafe.nsw.edu.au/publications/tafelink/2002/07july/html/owner_builder.html

Owner/Builders approved courses:

http://www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/pdfs/secondarymenus/publications/dftb22.pdf

Other courses:

http://www.oten.edu.au/oten/studying/courses/CILS/1284CIL.pdf

http://www.mwcc.nsw.edu.au/docs/course-details.php?courseid=382&menuitem=2

Assessment - The assessment for this course is in the form of an oral or short answer quiz conducted by telephone. Upon completion of an approved Owner/Builder course, you should provide all relevant documentation with your permit application to your nearest Fair Trading Centre. If your application is approved, TAFE OTEN can also offer this course for distance study by correspondence. If you apply, the text notes will be sent to you for study at your own pace, at the end you may arrange an appointment for the quiz-type assessment. This will usually be by telephone, but face-to-face arrangements will be made in special circumstances (eg if applicant is deaf or needs an interpreter).

In the absence of satisfactory feedback in this quiz, you will be given the opportunity to re-read the material and try again.