Small or non-structural renovations are not automatically exempt.
Plain-English guide
Do I need a 137B owner-builder report?
Section 137B is a Victorian law designed to protect buyers. If you are selling after owner-builder building or renovation work, you may need a defects inspection report before the contract is signed.
For most domestic owner-builder work, the relevant period is generally 6 years and 6 months.
The report generally must be less than 6 months old when the contract is signed.
Do I need one at all?
What renovations did you do?
Select the work below. We’ll tell you whether a Section 137B report is required.
1Select all work that applies
2How was the renovation arranged?
3Was it completed within the last 6 years and 6 months?
Use the legal completion date if you know it. If the date or completion documents are unclear, choose “Not sure”.
This is a practical screening tool, not legal advice. Special timing or permit circumstances can change the result.
If Section 137B applies
What happens if the report is not provided?
Section 137B(2) of the Building Act 1993 (Vic) carries a maximum penalty of 100 penalty units.
If a required report was not provided before the contract was signed, the buyer may have the right to cancel the contract before settlement.
This can matter even after both sides have signed. Section 137B itself does not make an exception just because the property was bought at auction.
The buyer may not know about the problem when they agree to buy. Their solicitor or conveyancer will usually check the sale documents. If a required report is missing, they are likely to point it out and explain that the buyer may have the right to cancel before settlement.
Maximum penalty under Section 137B(2)$20,910As at 24 October 2026
1 penalty unit = $209.10
1 penalty unit = $209.10
This amount is calculated using the Victorian penalty-unit rate that applies today. It is the maximum penalty under the law, not an automatic fine.
For the seller’s lawyer or conveyancer
Find it before the buyer does.
A diligent seller’s solicitor or conveyancer can help identify this issue before the property is under contract. Asking about recent owner-builder work while preparing the contract and Section 32 gives the seller time to organise the report before a buyer is locked in.
Finding it after signing hands the timing advantage to the buyer.Solicitor & conveyancer buyer-side checklist →For real estate agents
Protect months of work with one early question.
An agent can spend weeks or months preparing the property, building buyer interest, negotiating and securing the strongest offer. A missing 137B report can put that work at risk after the deal is signed.
Useful listing-stage questionHas the seller done any owner-builder building or renovation work in the last 6 years and 6 months?
Compared with the value of the sale, arranging the report is a small compliance cost. It can reduce the chance of a buyer walking away or renegotiating late, help protect the agreed price and improve buyer confidence.
Protect the campaign, the commission and the result.Practical sale risk
A failed sale can weaken the seller’s position.
If the buyer pulls out before settlement, the agreed sale price may already be known to other buyers. The buyer who offered the most may also be gone.
If the property goes back on the market, other buyers may see the seller as more motivated and lower their offers.
Report timing
How old can the report be?
The report generally must be less than 6 months old when the contract is signed, and a copy must be given to the buyer.
Separate owner-builder insurance requirements may also apply. Booking this inspection does not arrange that insurance.
Simple example
A small compliance step can protect a much larger sale.
Imagine a seller renovated a bathroom and deck as an owner-builder, then signs a $1.3 million sale contract. The buyer’s conveyancer later identifies the owner-builder work but cannot find a required 137B report.
If Section 137B applies, the buyer may be advised that they can cancel before settlement. By then the strongest buyer may be gone and the agreed sale price may already be known to other buyers. This is an example only.
Across Australia
Different rules. The same buyer-protection idea.
The exact mechanism is different, but each state and territory commonly uses inspection, insurance or statutory warranty rules so buyers are not left carrying unknown building risk.
Special timing rules
What if there was no Occupancy Permit or Certificate of Final Inspection?
Different rules apply. If neither document was issued or required, the Act generally uses 7 years after the building-permit date, or if no building permit was issued or required, 6 years and 6 months after the certified commencement date.
Renovated without a building permit? Read Section 137B and renovations without a building permit.
Official sources
Sources: Building Act 1993 (Vic), s 137B, Consumer Affairs Victoria — Owner builders, and Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance — penalty units.
Not sure where to start?
Check your renovation scope first.
Select the work you did. If your answers indicate a 137B report is required, the same scope flows straight into the quote.