18EProceedings for breach of warranty

#### 18E Proceedings for breach of warranty 18E Proceedings for breach of warranty > > (1) Proceedings for a breach of a statutory warranty must be commenced in accordance with the following provisions— > > > > > (a) proceedings must be commenced before the end of the warranty period for the breach, > > > > > (b) the warranty period is 6 years for a breach that results in a major defect in residential building work or 2 years in any other case, > > > > > (c) the warranty period starts on completion of the work to which it relates (but this does not prevent proceedings from being commenced before completion of the work), > > > > > (d) if the work is not completed, the warranty period starts on— > > > > > > > (i) the date the contract is terminated, or > > > > > > > (ii) if the contract is not terminated—the date on which work under the contract ceased, or > > > > > > > (iii) if the contract is not terminated and work under the contract was not commenced—the date of the contract, > > > > > (e) if the breach of warranty becomes apparent within the last 6 months of the warranty period, proceedings may be commenced within a further 6 months after the end of the warranty period, > > > > > (f) a breach of warranty becomes apparent when any person entitled to the benefit of the warranty first becomes aware (or ought reasonably to have become aware) of the breach. > > > (1A) If a building bond has been lodged for building work under Part 11 of the [Strata Schemes Management Act 2015](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2015-050), the period of 2 years specified for commencing proceedings for a breach of a statutory warranty for that work is extended until the end of 90 days after the end of the period within which a final inspection report on the building work under that Part is required. > > > (1B) Subsection (1A) does not limit any other law that permits the period for commencement of proceedings to be extended. > > > (2) The fact that a person entitled to the benefit of a statutory warranty specified in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (e) or (f) of section 18B has enforced the warranty in relation to a particular deficiency in the work does not prevent the person from enforcing the same warranty for a deficiency of a different kind in the work (the other deficiency) if— > > > > > (a) the other deficiency was in existence when the work to which the warranty relates was completed, and > > > > > (b) the person did not know, and could not reasonably be expected to have known, of the existence of the other deficiency when the warranty was previously enforced, and > > > > > (c) the proceedings to enforce the warranty in relation to the other deficiency are brought within the period referred to in subsection (1). > > > (3) The regulations may prescribe defects in a building that are not (despite any other provision of this section) a major defect. > > > (4) In this section— > > > > major defect means— > > > > > (a) a defect in a major element of a building that is attributable to defective design, defective or faulty workmanship, defective materials, or a failure to comply with the structural performance requirements of the National Construction Code (or any combination of these), and that causes, or is likely to cause— > > > > > > > (i) the inability to inhabit or use the building (or part of the building) for its intended purpose, or > > > > > > > (ii) the destruction of the building or any part of the building, or > > > > > > > (iii) a threat of collapse of the building or any part of the building, or > > > > > (b) a defect of a kind that is prescribed by the regulations as a major defect, or > > > > > (c) the use of a building product (within the meaning of the [Building Products (Safety) Act 2017](/view/html/inforce/current/act-2017-069)) in contravention of that Act. > > > > Note. > > > > The definition of major defect also applies for the purposes of section 103B (Period of cover). > > > > major element of a building means— > > > > > (a) an internal or external load-bearing component of a building that is essential to the stability of the building, or any part of it (including but not limited to foundations and footings, floors, walls, roofs, columns and beams), or > > > > > (b) a fire safety system, or > > > > > (c) waterproofing, or > > > > > (d) any other element that is prescribed by the regulations as a major element of a building. > > **s 18E:** Ins 1996 No 122, Sch 1 \[7\]. Am 2006 No 102, Sch 1 \[3\]; 2008 No 93, Sch 1 \[1\]; 2011 No 52, Sch 1 \[13\]; 2014 No 24, Sch 1 \[28\] \[29\]; 2015 No 50, Sch 4.12 \[2\]; 2017 No 69, Sch 2.6 \[1\].