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Building Act 2004
88Statutory warranties
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88 Statutory warranties
(1) By force of this section, every contract for the sale of a residential
building, and every contract to carry out residential building work to
which the builder is a party, is taken to contain a warranty under this
(2) The builder warrants the following in relation to residential building
work:
(a) that the work has been or will be carried out in accordance with
this Act;
(b) that the work has been or will be carried out in a proper and
skilful way and—
(i) in accordance with the approved plans; or
(ii) if the work involves or involved handling asbestos or
disturbing friable asbestos—in accordance with approved
plans that comply with this Act in relation to the asbestos;
(c) that good and proper materials for the work have been or will be
used in carrying out the work;
(d) if the work has not been completed, and the contract does not
state a date by which, or a period within which, the work is to
be completed—that the work will be carried out with reasonable
promptness;
(e) if the owner of the land where the work is being or is to be
carried out is not the builder, and the owner expressly makes
known to the builder, or an employee or agent of the builder, the
particular purpose for which the work is required, or the result
that the owner desires to be achieved by the work, so as to show
that the owner is relying on the builder’s skill and judgment—
that the work and any material used in carrying out the work is
or will be reasonably fit for the purpose or of such a nature and
quality that they might reasonably be expected to achieve the
result.
(3) Each of the owner’s successors in title succeeds to the rights of the
owner in relation to the statutory warranties.
(4) The warranties end at the end of the period prescribed under the
regulations after the completion day for the work.
(5) In subsection (2):
owner means—
(a) for a contract mentioned in subsection (1) for the sale of a
residential building—the person to whom title in the land where
the building was built is transferred under the contract; or
(b) for a contract mentioned in subsection (1) to carry out residential
building work—the owner of the land where the work is to be
carried out under the contract.
Standard conditions Division 6.2A