Home dispute verdict: QBCC takes action over Integrity New Homes Cairns complaint

The Queensland Building and Construction Commission has confirmed it will not take action against a Cairns builder over a complaint from a client.

UPDATE JUNE 1: The Queensland Building and Construction Commission has confirmed it will not take action against a Cairns builder over a complaint from a client.

Freshwater man Mithun Taneja lodged the complaint in early May about Integrity New Homes Cairns over a number of allegations against the company.

A QBCC spokesman said they had closed their inquiry into the matter.

“The QBCC’s powers do not include the ability to take action in regards to contractual disputes between the parties to a building contract,” he said.

“After investigating the complaint, the QBCC has determined we are unable to take any regulatory action in this matter.”

ORIGINAL STORY (MAY 24): Mithun Taneja lost his first home builder’s grant and has now launched a complaint against a Cairns building company that allegedly tried to inflate his contract.

The Freshwater restaurant owner had been trying to build a new house with his partner at The Pocket estate in Redlynch.

He entered a contract with Integrity New Homes Cairns on a recommendation from a friend and a few weeks later the builder undertook a soil test.

Mr Taneja said the builder came back with a test result of ‘class P’, meaning the soil capacity to bear a load was poor.

Mithun Taneja at the block in Hyland Close, Redlynch (The Pocket estate) where he and his wife were trying to build their first home. Picture: Stewart McLean

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“They said it would cost $5-7k extra to my contract and didn’t say what it was for,” he said.

“I asked for an explanation, they said it was because of a problem with the land.”

Mr Taneja said he contacted a third-party engineering company to verify the result and was given a ‘class M,’ meaning a moderate result that wouldn’t incur a $5000-7000 extra charge.

“The result made me doubt the contract and I reached out to them about backing off, but if we did that we’d lose our grant,” he said.

“It was really hard on my family, we put a lot of effort and trust with them.

“I asked to terminate our contract because we weren’t happy with their behaviour and they sent an invoice of $11,880 and an invoice I had to sign.”

Mr Taneja said he was told the cost was allegedly for ‘admin charges and builder time’.

“I asked what sort of things (they) put in. My land has not been settled, my loan was not approved,” he said.

“It’s a complete rip-off. You can’t just create an invoice for anything without explaining what it’s for.”

Mr Taneja said he lodged a complaint with the Queensland Building and Construction Commission alleging that the company lied about the soil test and the charges for the release invoice.

He also claimed the company’s advertisement of lifetime structural warranty on their Facebook page was false advertising, alleging no building company offers that.

An Integrity New Homes spokesman confirmed the firm had entered into a contract with Mr Taneja for the project.

“Mr Taneja was in a hurry to sign the contract and requested we prepare the documents without all of the standard reports finalised, including the geotechnical report,” he said.

“When the various preliminary reports became available, including the geotechnical information, Mr Taneja indicated that he no longer intended to proceed with building and requested a contract termination.

“We assisted him with this process on the basis that costs incurred to date were invoiced at the time of termination, and we have offered him the final invoice and termination deed as requested.

“As of (Tuesday’s) date, we still have a signed contract with Mr Taneja to construct a home for him prepared at his request and instruction.

“We stand by our lifetime structural warranty offer as detailed in our new home specification documents.”

A QBCC spokesman confirmed a complaint has been received.

“As with all complaints we receive, the details of the complaint will be examined to determine if the QBCC needs to take any potential regulatory action,” he said.

“The QBCC’s powers do not include the ability to take action in regards to contractual disputes between the parties to a building contract.

“We urge any party involved in a contractual dispute to obtain legal advice before ending a contract for any reason, and, if they decide to terminate it, to follow the termination procedures in the contract.”

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Originally published as Home dispute verdict: QBCC takes action over Integrity New Homes Cairns complaint