Getting Started On Your Kitchen Or Bathroom Renovation
Taking some simple steps at the start can help your project run smoothly.
Before you start:
- Always check your builder is a registered building practitioner for the type of work they will be doing, and uses a written major domestic building contract.
- For major renovations to your kitchen or bathroom, seek legal advice before signing a contract.
- For work costing more than $12,000, your builder must provide you with a current certificate of domestic building insurance for your building project before taking a deposit and starting work.
- Before work starts, check with your home and contents policy insurer that you are covered for the renovations – you may need extra cover.
- If you are doing any structural work to a building, then the builder or tradesperson must be registered, regardless of the cost of the work, and you may require a building permit.
For kitchen or bathroom renovations costing more than $5000 (even if the contract is split into smaller amounts), you must have a written major domestic building contract and your builder must be registered with the Building Practitioners Board.
Always ask for your builder’s registration details before you sign a contract.
You can also use your own experts, such as a building lawyer to check your contract and a consultant to check the quality of work during construction and at completion.
Don’t pay more than the deposit amount set by law:
- 10 per cent, if the total contract price is less than $20,000
- five per cent, if the total contract price is $20,000 or more.
Getting Plans And Permits
As the home owner, it is your responsibility to find out if you need planning and building permits for the work and to make sure they are obtained, whether you get them yourself or authorise someone else (such as your builder) to do it for you.
Your builder may supply plans and specifications, or you may engage an architect, designer or draftsperson to do this.
For free information and advice, visit consumer.vic.gov.au/building
