Defective plumbing work and consequential damage is covered by the licensed plumber's warranty insurance for a period of six years, if they decline to rectify defects.
Builders
Regulation 186(2)(b) of the Building Regulations 2018 (Building Regulations): Application for an OP must include all required compliance certificates for the building work
We have seen an increase in complaints where all required compliance certificates are not provided with the Form 15 application for an OP.
When the builder is making an application for an OP it is critical that all required compliance certificates are provided.
Any disputes resulting from plumbing defects, where a compliance certificate is missing and the licensed plumber is unknown, are referred to the builder to resolve under the warranties in the Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995.
Section 221ZH (2A) of the Building Act 1993 (Building Act): Compliance certificate must be given for most plumbing work
It's vital a builder obtains a compliance certificate to ensure the licensed plumber who carried out or supervised the carrying out of the plumbing work is responsible for resolution of non-compliance.
The builder should request a signed compliance certificate for the work carried out:
- if the plumber has not completed the work they were engaged to carry out
- when a builder's engagement is terminated and plumbing work is in progress.
Property owners are unable to request compliance certificates if one wasn't allocated for the plumbing work, and they do not know the name of the licensed plumber.
Building surveyors
Section 44(b) of the Building Act: Relevant building surveyor (RBS) must not issue an Occupancy Permit (OP)/Certificate of Final Inspection (CFI) without sighting a copy of all plumbing CCs required under s221ZH
An RBS must be vigilant in their scrutiny of compliance certificates to ensure compliance with the Building Act.
We have seen an increase in complaints where the RBS has issued an OP/CFI without sighting all the required compliance certificates.
The most serious omission we've seen is the absence of a compliance certificate for a roof installation, where the RBS has mistaken 'roofing drainage' for the whole roof installation.
More commonly, we're seeing the omission of a compliance certificate for heating and cooling split systems installed pre-OP/CFI.
