For solicitors & conveyancers

How to identify possible Section 137B risk in a renovated property.

If you are acting for a purchaser and the property appears to have been renovated within the relevant period, the key question is who took responsibility for the renovation as a whole.

Useful first questionWas there one registered builder who took responsibility for the entire renovation under a formal building contract?

Acting for the buyer

Do not stop at “we used trades”.

A property can have invoices from plumbers, electricians, tilers, flooring installers and other trades without there being one registered builder responsible for the renovation as a whole.

If the owner engaged or managed trades separately, some or all of the work may still have been owner-builder work.

Ask who carried the overall contractual responsibility for the complete renovation.

Buyer-side document check

Ask for the building contract.

Where the seller says a registered builder carried out the renovation, request the signed building contract and check that it actually covers the work you are concerned about.

A contract for a kitchen does not, by itself, explain who was responsible for a later deck, bathroom or flooring project.

What to look for

Evidence that one builder was responsible for the renovation.

For substantial renovation work, a proper signed building contract is a strong starting point. Check whether the documents identify the builder and the complete scope rather than simply proving that individual trades attended the property.

Registered builder

The contract identifies the builder and the builder’s registration details.

Complete scope

The work described in the contract matches the renovation that can be seen or has been disclosed.

Signed responsibility

The owner and builder are the contracting parties and the agreement is properly executed.

Supporting documents

Where relevant, completion, insurance and other project documents are consistent with the builder-contract story.

Red flags

These do not, on their own, prove that one registered builder was responsible for the whole renovation.

Invoices from individual tradesElectrical or plumbing certificates aloneQuotes from separate contractorsA builder invoice covering only part of the renovationThe seller simply saying “we used registered trades”

The absence of a comprehensive building contract does not by itself prove owner-builder status. It is a reason to investigate further and, where appropriate, ask whether a Section 137B defects inspection report is required.

A simple buyer-side workflow

Renovation visible → responsibility unclear → investigate 137B.

1Identify the work

What was renovated, and when?

2Ask who was responsible

Was one registered builder responsible for the entire scope?

3Request the contract

Does the signed contract actually cover that work?

4Raise the 137B issue

If owner-builder work may be involved, ask for the defects inspection report.

Acting for the seller

Find the issue while preparing the contract, not after the buyer signs.

Ask the seller about recent building and renovation work before the contract and Section 32 are finalised.

If there was no single registered builder responsible for the complete renovation, check whether the work was owner-builder work and whether Section 137B requirements apply.

Early identification gives the seller time to organise the report before the transaction is exposed to avoidable risk.

Official sources

Sources: Consumer Affairs Victoria — Owner builders, Consumer Affairs Victoria — Owner builders checklist, Consumer Affairs Victoria — Building contracts checklist, and Consumer Affairs Victoria — Implied warranties on home building work, plus Building Act 1993 (Vic), s 137B.

Suspect owner-builder work?

Check the renovation scope and arrange the report if required.

Use the renovation checker to identify the work. If Section 137B is required, the same scope flows straight into the inspection quote.

Check the renovation Get an inspection quote