builders warrantees but builder died and non compliant work heating broken and family is freezing

Heating of 5yr old unit broke down leaving a family with young kids including a premature newborn freezing.

Brivis came out and charged a big fee to tell us that they cant fix it and they cant access the heating unit apparently, they have special limits of what they will or wont access

Apparently the heating was built badly, against the law, non compliant, with heating ducts everywhere in the roof blocking access to the heating unit in the roof blocking access to fix the unit.

The person who installed it tried to tell us that the builder owed him money, so he wouldnt touch it.
i think the truth is he knows he installed it against the law. he had to put in a compliance document with his signature, but it does not comply and he can be reported to the plumbers association which would be big trouble for him

i was told that if we told the contracter that the ducts are illegal non compliant and he would ahve signed the c ompliant form and we will report him unless he immediately repairs the ducts then he should come out and fix all the ducts very quickly

has anyone had any similar experiences.

The insurance wont pay as it should be covered still with the builders warrantee
but the builder is dead so he wont cover anything

The insurance wont pay as they say the company is still registered
asec say they cant deregister the company as there isnt any employees waiting to be paid, and there arent any as it was just the builder and his sister and she doesnt care about any of it all


what advice can you give re ever getting back costs from insurance
or ever getting the contracter to repair his illegal heating work which he would have signed a compliance form about.

Thank you and i'm really interested in any advice .

 

What State is the house in?

 

When you say insurance, who's insurance?
I'm not a solicitor but couldn't you make a claim against the builders estate? He would have had liability insurance which would still be current Covering his estate?

 

In these circumstances I would pay to get the heater repaired whilst trying to sort the issues out.

 

Sounds like the builder was a company and the person behind the company died. The company has insurance (as would the deceased if a sole trader) so why not contact the insurer?

 

The state of disrepair.

 

Ask Bob for a Shovel ?

 

I could be wrong but I am sure that you can claim through the builders home warranty fund (which would have been mandatory for him to have when he was building, its mandatory for all works over 12k or something). I believe this insurance can only be claimed when the builder is dead or cannot be found.

 

i would go with the insurance option. contact the financial ombudsman and lodge a case. This actualy should be pretty straightforward as the builder has already passed away.
in victoria if any plumbing work is not done correctly, lodge a case with the VBA who will then assign a case officer for this. As long as you go the certs, there is insurance on work above $750, no way any plumber or electrician would be willing to risk his license.

 

A heater is not the "building", would be surprised if it was covered by anything more than the manufacturers warranty, the builder did not build the heater.

Stop looking for who to blame and keep calling other contractors till someone says they will do it, the problem sounds like they are all avoiding you because you want someone to work for free or it is in a real bugger of a spot & they do not need the money.

If the unit has a warranty that still is valid, then you can chase that once the unit is removed, if that is what it needs, if it is poorly located, you may have to pay to put it somewhere else, all this talk of illegal etc is meaningless unless your qualified, or have it is writing by someone qualified so you can persue it.....only IMO that is, but if you need the heater then really is no option but to find someone who will fix it.

 

So, how are the tenants keeping warm?

I suggest getting some electric heaters for them if you haven't already.
Get them from Kmart - they aren't expensive.

That will buy you time to follow up about the 'non compliant' ducts. I would get a second opinion about the non compliance.

Call the plumbing commission in your state for advice.

 

Coles had small heaters for sale for $14 each maybe 2-3 weeks ago. And they probably still do...

 

Have heard the Kmart ones are better!!

I think fullylucky has done a full review in the past on them..

 

There are two separate issues here.

1. The heater is broken in the middle of winter. Get it fixed immediately otherwise if the tenant goes to the tribunal you will lose.

And don't expect the tenant to make do with cheap electric heaters. They cost a fortune in electricity and have very limited effect.

2. Who pays is an entirely separate issue. Initially you will probably have to, then seek redress from any avenue you choose.
Marg

 

Actually, electric heaters can be very effective in terms of keeping people warm!

That's what I have in my house as do many others.

 

Thanks
It's not tenants it's family
They are prepared to pay but some companies have strict rules of walkway room so won't fix it

Not only wasn't it compliant but it seems he used a second hand heating unit as the heating unit we are told is older than the 5 yr old home .

I got them some panel heaters so we have a bit more time . It's a fan and it's expensive and hard to get to but it will get fixed .

I'm grateful for the suggestions that we will follow up
Dabbler noone is looking for someone to blame, We are looking for how the ducts were made wrongly non compliant and how to claim for this big repair and for things made faulty and illegally. responsibility and claiming insurance is not looking for who to blame.
also its not needed in writing. We have this info from a very reputable and knowledgable source re telling plumber its non compliant and we can report him that the ducts need to be made compliant and moreso we have since found out the heating unit must have been second hand as its older than the 5 year old house.
Thanks so much

 

the heater can be more than 5 years old, that means nothing, if I build a house and buy a heater that is new but manufactured 3 years ago, it is still new, anyway, all that means nothing.

If there is a problem with the ducting, then chase the dead builder by whatever your states eqv of fair trading is, I think it may be a waste of time and energy therefore my comments, but who knows, you probably have a few ideas now for whomever owns this place to decide what they want to do.

PS my comments also reflect in that it seems like the focus is on who to blame, was suggesting that trades may also get this sense, sorry, not being intentionally harsh, hope it gets sorted.

 

geez, what a mess the situation is...........
feel sorry for OP

 

Fair trading can step in where the builder is deceased, dead, departed, shuffled off this mortal coil, pushing up daisies, chatting to St Peter, carked it, no longer of this world etc however it would need to have been covered under home warranty insurance.

 

Non-structural, so Builders Warranty only covers for 2 years and having just gone down this path with major issues in an apartment I own, dont bother, the lawyers fees to make anything happen will send you broke. Just fix it and sell it, there will no doubt be other short cuts taken by the builder, trying to be all moral and hold them to account is not worth it.