Builders warned over liability claims

Liability a concern when it comes to earthquake repair work

Thousands of repair jobs carried out by the Earthquake Commission (EQC) in Canterbury may need to be redone.

In January, EQC revealed it had 5,500 homes to fix.

In a recent The Press article, EQC customer and claims general manager Trish Keith said that only a relatively low proportion of remedial work relates to faulty contractor workmanship.

She pointed out that most of the other remedial work related to original repairs done well but based on an inappropriate repair strategy, new damage from subsequent aftershocks and damage missed during initial repairs.

RMB President encourages careful ROW completion

Registered Master Builders Canterbury branch president Ivan Stanicich said that builders keen to take on the work should ensure they protect themselves from potential liability claims.

“LBPs and builders involved in fixing someone else’s work need to ensure they take all practicable steps to ensure the work they do is correctly signed off,” said Mr Stanicich.

“LBPs must provide a Record of Work stating precisely what they have carried out. This is important, because it identifies what they did and are therefore responsible for.”

He added that by doing so, not only are builders looking after themselves, they are also protecting the homeowner.