Barbican Construction Group: Nunawading company fined in VCAT legal row after extension on Glen Eira home

A Nunawading building company’s bid to sue homeowners over unpaid costs has backfired spectacularly with VCAT finding its work was “extremely defective and needed to be demolished”.

The VCAT case against the Glen Eira home owners was dismissed earlier this week. Generic image.

A building company’s bid to claw back thousands in unpaid costs from a homeowner in Melbourne’s southeast has backfired spectacularly at VCAT

Nunawading company Barbican Construction Group (‘Barbican’) brought a claim before the tribunal after it believed it was not paid enough for work it had done renovating a mid-century Glen Eira house.

But the claim was dismissed, with the tribunal instead ruling that the building company should be the ones forced to fork out $142,961 to fix all the damage incurred in its “extremely defective” renovation job.

A Melbourne building company is being ordered to pay over $100,000. Generic image.

According to the tribunal’s judgment, the homeowners hired Barbican to add an extension to the rear of their property.

The contract price was just over $100,000 and the builders soon started excavating the site, constructing concrete pegs, buildings timber bearers and frames for the walls.

“(But) within days of the builder commencing its work, the owners became concerned at the quality,” the decision read.

The owners then engaged a building surveyor who found “serious defects” in the builder’s work, the tribunal heard.

VCAT found their were “serious defects”.

Some of the “serious defects” detailed in damage reports included the builder’s dig operator digging beyond the building’s footprint and damaging drainage pipes.

In a separate report related to different issues with the build, the owners were told of a variety of structural defects, including some stumps not being installed, corroded nails, split floor joists and timber which had been damaged after it was left on the ground.

But, in August 2021, the owners received a legal notice from the builders asking for $45,567. The homeowners soon countersued.

In his judgement, tribunal deputy president Ian Lulham found the builders made an “illogical and implausible” claim to receive money for tools they had allegedly lost.

“The builder was actually claiming the value of allegedly lost tools which it did not own,” Mr Lulham wrote.

He found the builder’s work was “extremely defective and needed to be demolished” and described some of their evidence as “unconvincing” and amounting “to little more than a series of improbable excuses”.

“The owner received nothing of value from these works,” Mr Lulham wrote.

The builder’s claim was dismissed and the owners were awarded just over $140,000.

Speaking after the decision, Homa Youn, a co-owner of Barbican, said he was “in shock”.

He said the tribunal process was frustrating and alleged the home owners had suddenly changed the amount of money they were claiming.

“(This) is not a game for me, it is my life and my livelihood ... I am scared,” he said.

He disputed any claims his company’s construction work was not up to standard and said he would be speaking to his solicitor about possible next steps.