Handover and the statutory warranty clock in Catherine Field NSW

The Home Building Act 1989 gives a new home in New South Wales six years of statutory warranty on major defects and two years on everything else, counted from completion. The shorter period is the one that catches owners, because it covers most of what appears on a handover list and nothing arrives in the post to remind you it is closing. Section 18B runs the warranty with the property rather than the first owner, so it matters on a resale too. Get the list written and dated before you sign, keep every piece of correspondence, and put anything that emerges in the first two years in writing while the window is still open.

Six years on major defects, two on everything else, from completion.

Most handover list items sit inside the shorter period.

The warranty passes to whoever owns the property next.

For a Catherine Field build over the threshold, the builder's Home Building Compensation Fund cover is issued through icare.

The AS 3660 termite notice is the other document worth chasing before you sign.

More about Catherine Field

Written by our local inspection team from work carried out in Catherine Field. Licensed building practitioners.

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Handover and the statutory warranty clock in Catherine Field NSW: common questions

When does the clock actually start?

On completion of the contract work, which usually means practical completion or the occupation certificate. Get that date from the builder in writing rather than working it out for yourself.

What puts a defect in the major category?

In broad terms it affects a major element and renders the home unusable, uninhabitable or unsafe, or is heading that way. Water getting through the envelope is the category argued as major more often than any other.

Should I sign while items are outstanding?

It comes down to your contract, and to a decision between you and the builder. The point we do make is that nothing strengthens your position like an unsigned contract, so the inspection sits two to three weeks in front of it.