Khanh Ho: fake building surveyor pleads guilty following Victorian Building Authority investigation

Khanh Ho’s work as a fake building surveyor prompted the most complex ever investigation by the Victorian Building Authority.

A former building surveyor forged documents, duped customers into handing over money, and signed off on worthless building permits and occupancy permits, leading to one of the most complex investigations in the state building watchdog’s history.

Khanh Ho, 49, on Monday pleaded guilty to eleven breaches of the Building Act, stemming from his work as a phony surveyor on nine building sites across suburban Melbourne.

Barrister Tim McCulloch, for the Victorian Building Authority, urged Magistrate Meghan Hoare to impose “significant financial penalties” on Ho, who left Australia in 2022 and was not able to be charged until he returned.

Mr McCulloch said the victims included homeowners and the two legitimate businesses whose paperwork Ho doctored to make it appear he was performing legitimate surveying work as an agent.

The full scale of Ho’s misconduct was unearthed by respected surveying company West Side Building, whose director, James Reardon, investigated Ho’s work and referred his findings to the VBA and Victoria Police.

Mr McCulloch said Mr Ho’s conduct undermined public confidence in the state’s domestic building industry.

Khanh Ho, 49, has pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates Court to a string of charges stemming from pretending to be a registered building surveyor.

He said homeowners who had spent large portions of their life savings would have been distraught to find out their homes might not have been properly signed off on.

On his first illegal job Ho pocketed more than $4300 to inspect an Altona North home.

More than a year later, it emerged Ho had issued a fraudulent occupancy permit for the home.

He also charged almost $3400 for work on a stall at South Melbourne Markets, only to cut off contact with the builder when the shonky nature of his work was questioned.

The other sites he worked on were a townhouse development St Albans, a home in Laverton, a home in Newport, a home in Hoppers Crossing, and a home in Thornbury, a home in Footscray and another home in Altona North.

In total, Ho pocketed nearly $30,000 for work he performed while masquerading as a surveyor.

Mr McCulloch said it was only luck that the tradespeople on the sites Ho was working on had performed high-quality work, and that Ho’s conduct removed a significant safeguard for homeowners.

Ho’s registration as a surveyor was cancelled in 2010 amid an investigation into allegations of serious financial misconduct.

Ho’s defence lawyer admitted his client’s conduct had caused “chaos” but said there was no evidence any homeowners were left out of pocket or with a defective home.

At least one of the sites Ho worked on was issued with an urgent stop work order, but was later completed.

Ho has since quit the building industry, and is attempting to open a restaurant in Maidstone with his new partner.

The VBA is also seeking Ho to pay $29,000 in costs.

Magistrate Meghan Hoare will sentence Ho in April.