MBV and HIA call for review of proposed new building legislation, arguing legitimate builders will be unfairly penalised
Master Builders Victoria (MBV) and Housing Industry Association (HIA) have called for the Victorian government’s new Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Bill to be subject to a review by a Parliamentary Committee.
The Building Legislation Amendment (Buyer Protections) Bill, which is due to be debated in Parliament next week, is intended to better protect consumers.
While MBV and HIA both agree that consumer protections should be improved, they are concerned that many provisions in the Bill will unfairly penalise good builders and could drive them out of the industry.
They argue that while well-intentioned, it is also unlikely that the new laws will do much to protect vulnerable consumers from bad building practices.
MBV CEO Michaela Lihou said these new laws will frustrate builders being allowed to pursue legitimate claims to be paid.
“The current system for resolving disputes between builders and consumers is flawed and must be fixed. But effectively banning builders from being paid for their work until consumer concerns are addressed is a disproportionate response” she said.
“Many builders already have trouble getting paid for work they have completed. These new laws will only make that harder. It’s hard to see how that’s fair or reasonable.”
HIA Executive Director Keith Ryan said the legislation had been rushed, was poorly drafted and would have to be fixed before it started having effect.
“The Bill before Parliament has a number of flaws. It also seems the government has decided that the best way to protect consumers is to simply block builders from accessing the dispute resolution system,” he said.
“This is unfair and lazy and will only burn good builders. It is not obvious why the usual legal protections we all expect are being turned off just for one side of the story.”
Ms Lihou added the Bill allows for builders to be forced to fix problems caused by poor designs and plans they are not responsible for, and that they cannot realistically challenge these rectification orders.
“The proposed laws allow rectification orders to be made against a builder regardless of whether the builder or an architect or draftsperson is responsible for the fault.”
“Under these laws the builder is blamed immediately and then forced to pursue their legal rights using the existing flawed dispute resolution system. That will take months or years and often requires small builders to take on large insurance companies.”
Keith Ryan added “Consumers may feel aggrieved that the Bill could be delayed by a parliamentary review. And while that may be understandable, surely the government needs to get it right the first time, given the potential impact it will have.”
“And realistically, the need for new laws is far from clear.”
“Over the past eighteen months the current regulator, the Victorian Building Authority, has become very active in enforcing existing laws. They have not only told the building industry that they will start using all their enforcement powers, but they have actually done so and should be commended for it.”
“No builder can now be in doubt that existing laws can be used to punish bad behaviour and if necessary, expel them from the industry. Surely, we should be looking at using the existing laws and enforcement powers more effectively rather than coming in with a new legislative sledgehammer that will only hurt good builders.”
Both Ms Lihou and Mr Ryan are united in their call for an urgent review of the new Bill.
“This Bill needs to be reviewed so that consumer protections are appropriately improved without sending legitimate builders out of business,” they said.
Available for interview:
MBV CEO Michaela Lihou
HIA Executive Director Keith Ryan
Media enquiries:
Leigh McClusky
0411 711 780
le***@mc*******.au
