137B Owner Builder Reports

If you built, extended or renovated a home as an owner-builder and sell it within six and a half years of completion, section 137B of the Building Act 1993 says you need a defects report on the building before you sign the contract of sale. The buyer gets a copy.

What the rules say in Victoria

Before you enter a contract to sell, section 137B requires:

• a report on the building from a prescribed building practitioner, containing the matters the Minister has set out by notice in the Government Gazette
• a report obtained no more than six months before you sign the contract
• a copy of the report given to the buyer
• the requirements of the statutory insurance scheme met, where it applies
• a notice of cover given to the buyer
• the warranties in section 137C set out in the contract of sale

A sale that breaks these rules can be cancelled by the buyer at any time before settlement. Your conveyancer or lawyer looks after the contract and the insurance.

When the six and a half years starts

The period runs for six years and six months from the completion date: the date of the occupancy permit, or of the certificate of final inspection if no occupancy permit was issued. If neither was issued or needed, it's seven years from the building permit. Work that needed no building permit runs six years and six months from the start date you certify by statutory declaration.

What's in the report

The report lists the visible defects and areas of concern in the accessible parts of the home, for you to give the buyer with the contract. It names the owner who did or managed the owner-builder work, along with the inspector's full legal name, company name and registration number. Only the practitioner who inspected the home signs it.

Timing your report

The report has to be no more than six months old when you sign the contract. Book it once you know you're selling. If the sale takes longer, you'll need a new one.