Proposed home warranty insurance scheme to offer homeowners more protections
Tasmanian homeowners left with unfinished or botched homes at the hands of shoddy builders may soon have bolstered protections under a proposed law put forward by the state government. Details >
Tasmania
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Tasmanian homeowners left with unfinished or botched homes at the hands of shoddy builders may soon have bolstered protections under a proposed law put forward by the state government.
On Wednesday the Residential Building (Home Warranty Insurance Amendments) Bill 2023 was tabled by Attorney-General and Minister for Workplace Safety and Consumer Affairs, Elise Archer.
The tabling of the bill comes in the wake of the collapse of Tasmanian construction company Multi-Res Builders Pty Ltd.
Jack Bird, a young man who was building his dream home at Risdon Vale through Multi-Res is one such first homeowner who has been left out of pocket and with an unfinished home after the company went into liquidation on May 14.
The bill will make it mandatory for building contractors to take out the protection on behalf of homeowners and buyers – a scheme that would bring Tasmania in-line with the rest of the country.
Currently, the Apple Isle is the only state and territory in Australia without such a scheme to help out homeowners.
The requirement for home warranty insurance had previously been abolished by Labor, Ms Archer said.
“Our Home Warranty Insurance scheme will provide important protections to ensure that homeowners are covered for loss caused by incomplete or defective building work should unforeseen circumstances occur,” Ms Archer said.
The scheme will offer a range of protections for homebuyers by mandating that builders take out insurance for residential building work.
It will provide insurance cover for homeowners for the loss of deposits, non-completion of projects, and defects – subject to various financial caps where a builder has either died, disappeared, or become insolvent.
In addition, it will also provide an application trigger of $20,000, a six-year warranty period and a definition of residential building work that will align with the Residential Building Work Contracts and Dispute Resolution Act 2016.
katie.hall@news.com.au
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