137B Owner Builder Reports

In Australia, the property market is typically governed by a set of strict rules to ensure the integrity of a home being sold; as well as to assure the safety of its structure for any new buyer. As a seller you might be keen to maximise the chances of selling your home - and that’s where 137B owner builder reports come in handy.

What is this type of report?

If you have undertaken any physical work on your property in the past 6.5 years, then you will need to obtain a 137B report to ensure that the works carried out adhere to all licensing and legislation.

What does the report do?

The report will be governed by a fully licensed inspector, whose role will be to evaluate the condition of any work done and create a report based on defects and potential issues. That’s why this report is often referred to within the industry as a 137B defects inspection notice – and in order to sell a home it is considered mandatory, for any construction work not in place when the property was previously purchased by an ‘owner builder’.

What is an owner builder?

In the simplest terms it is a person that purchased a property with the sole intention being to renovate it in order to sell it on again (within 6 and a half years from the date of purchase). They may live within the property and will typically have nothing to do with the construction industry in a formal sense.

What this means is that if a person already owned a home and wanted to purchase a second one to turn it around and resell it in the near future; they could be deemed an owner builder. This would make them liable for any work carried out and that’s why all construction activities will need to be evaluated by a trained and qualified inspector; simply to ensure the integrity of the premises.

If you aren’t planning on selling your home within 6 and a half years of buying it, then you won’t need this type of inspection. Furthermore, if the work undertaken exceed $16,000 AUD then you will also need warranty insurance, as well as a 137B report.