The Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) is warning homeowners about the dangers of hiring unregistered practitioners after a South Melbourne couple were forced to sell their dream home over an illegal renovation and extension.
Andrew Lennox and his company, Atomic 6 Pty Ltd, have been convicted and fined $70,000, after being found guilty of 8 offences under the Building Act 1993.
The offences included:
- carrying out building work while unregistered
- signing a domestic building contract while unregistered
- carrying out work without the required building permit or Domestic Building Insurance.
The court heard the couple met Lennox at the Melbourne Home Show, where he promoted a modular building method for their planned renovation and extension.
Three months later, the couple began making payments to Lennox after signing a fake contract. A year later, demolition began, including removing the roof above the lounge, kitchen and bathroom.
Lennox invoiced for the demolition works. Over the following months, the couple raised concerns about the slow progress via email.
18 months after the contract was signed, Lennox advised that the project could not be completed using the original method and would require a traditional build instead.
When the couple requested a refund for the more than $100,000 they had paid, Lennox refused.
The 50-year-old failed to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court and is believed to be living in the Philippines. His company, Atomic 6, is now in liquidation.
BPC Commissioner and CEO Anna Cronin said:
"This is another heartbreaking example of how wrong things can go when hiring an unregistered builder."
"The BPC has a wide range of enforcement tools for registered practitioners – including fines, suspension and cancellation but illegal builders leave consumers exposed."
Because the Lennox was unregistered, the BPC had to pursue the matter through the court system, a process that is often long and costly and can come too late to help the affected owners recover their losses.
Protect yourself
Always engage a registered builder and a licensed or registered plumber.
Check their registration through our Find a Practitioner tool .
If you know of an unregistered builder or plumber, report them via our online tip off form
