Does Your Home Builder Have a Valid Licence to Build?

Before hiring a home builder you should always make sure the tradesperson has a builder license. A license can protect the home owner in numerous ways such as:

• Supports and upholds better consumer protection
• Reassurance that you are working with a legitimate company
• You are less likely to hire someone that is untrustworthy or inferior for the job
• Surety that the tradesperson has the right professional qualifications for the work

A Builder Licence

When a tradesperson has a builder licence, it assures you that they are qualified to do various types of home builder projects. In fact, in order to attain a builder’s license there are quite a few standards that are required. As well, a tradesperson needs to be licensed and registered if:

• They are doing domestic building work where the cost will exceed $5000, (including labour and materials)
• Regardless of cost, the job requires a permit for construction or building, removing a home, demolishing, re-stumping and re-blocking
• Provide more than one type of work like painting or plastering where the expenses exceed $5000

Shows Background

A licence will show you a lot of very useful background information. For instance, if a licence is marked with a green tick then it current. The card will also include the date which shows when it was added to the licence record. As well, if a licence has a grey mark then it is no longer current or up-to-date. There is also a start and end date with licences that have a grey cross.

Other Information

Home builders can also look for other information that is helpful in establishing a tradespersons experience and credentials. And aside from asking for a builder licence, there are a few things a home builder can take into consideration:

• Current existing jobs
• What is the total cost?
• Is there a deposit required?
• Who will clean the job site?
• A contactors licence number
• Examples of work done in the past
• The type of contract that will be used
• When the project can be started and how long it will take to complete

Varity of Tradespeople

Aside from home builders, there are a wide variety of tradespeople that do diverse jobs that require licencing. For instance, tradespeople who do electrical wiring, plumbing, refrigerator and air conditioning, gas fitting and draining.