B&P recourse?

I used a B&P company recently and found that they didn't pick up certain things regarding the building not complying with the QLD building code like the railing for the staircase and patio aren't legal height, a stove in the second kitchen (downstairs of a high set) isn't connected to the high voltage power source but to the lighting switchboard etc.

Water leakage was detected from the bathroom- should the B&P inspector have opened the taps to check this?

Not sure what should and could the B&P company have picked up. How have you dealt with such a situation? What laws protect the buyer?

 

Hearing more and more of this and their reports are so full of disclaimers and broad answers.. I haven't heard of any test cases etc but I'd talk to a bulldog lawyer . The B&&P co must have insurance

 

This is a question that is often asked but never answered..

I'd recommend engaging a solicitor and/or seek advice from the qbcc who are the governing body who give and can take away a building inspectors license.

Please let us know how you go

 

They should have picked up the non-compliant handrail and water leak.. Not the wiring fault, they're not sparkies.

 

Contract laws and the laws of negligence.

 

i'm not sure about the hand rail ( i wouldn't really care) but the legal height i would have thought the inspector would have mentioned it, As for the electrical and plumbing i do not believe it's their job to test these areas. he would look for structural damage, any type of damage etc water damage.

Cheers, Elives

 

Forget the electrical and plumbing, it would have to be a real bad leak that was plainly visibly to ping them on that.

The building itself though, if obvious, should have been picked up.

The guys I have used picked up these sorts of things, that is why you use them so you do not have to be familiar with all current legislation IMO.

 

an inspector should be picking up a non-visible leak to a wet area in my opinion. It's incredibly easy to do, they just need to run a moisture meter on the opposite of the partition wall to the wet area, or look in the subfloor if it's off the ground for any moisture. It can cost big $$ to fix a wet area and wall framing..

Before engaging an inspector I'd ask them if they check for leaks (with a moisture meter), if not, find one that does.

 

Yes, they do check these things, but it will depend on how bad a leak has been and how long a place has been vacant & you wont be checking under floor on many places.


The point I was making, is it will be a hard slog trying to ping them and win in court on that, going to court is rarely trivial & cheaper to just get on with it unless it is obvious they took money on false pretense IMO

 

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.. As an engineer who inspects structural damage for a living, I know how easy it is to detect. There may be the odd case that a leak has been initiated, house is vacated, framing/wall lining dries, no visible damage.. But this case would be extremely rare. Any other case is inexcusable for not picking up.

i agree, the buyer has a snow balls chance of getting recourse since most inspectors can't do this check properly, when they should imo.

Case in point is this thread and a thread identical to this just a couple weeks ago

 

I do not think we are disagreeing at all.

I always look for myself and for the places I have inspected, they always pick up if there are obvious issues around wet areas & are usually covering themselves. Thing is, the leak could be a pipe, a washer, it is not obvious from the post what it is, if it is that obvious then it should have been picked up by everyone. Inspector only has to say area was covered, if furniture was in the way, belongings, pile of rubbish, no access, whatever, we would need the report and need to look for either of us or anyone else to be sure, although it does appear they may not have done a decent job from info provided.

The OP is already in a pickle, have to work out if it is worth having a go at them, it may very well be, or it may just be a headache & a lesson learnt, going to need someone else to have a look to work this out.

Once sure of all the info, I would be approaching them about the issues and see what they may offer and go from there.

 

Yep. My parents sold their place in Adelaide and the B&P inspector pinged them for a possible leak in the main bathroom due to moisture in a wall in the hallway (behind the shower). The parents called a plumber out and it turned out to be a minor issue that was inexpensive to fix. However, it would have become a major issue if left, so it was a good thing the inspector flagged it. He picked it up with a moisture metre exactly as you describe.

 

In my opinion, it sounds like they were a bit slack. First stop for me would be fair trading or consumer affairs. See what they say and decide if you want to take it further.

 

Thanks guys