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After some weeks or months, the works will finally be complete and the builder will be entitled to payment of the money held by BUILDSAFE®.
To get paid the Security Amount, the Builder needs to send a Notice to the Owner advising that he considers the works to be finished. If the works are finished, the Owner will sign a Notice confirming this and BUILDSAFE® will pay the money held in trust to the builder immediately.
If the Owner thinks that there is still work to be done, it can advise the builder and the builder can complete that work and then get paid the money held by BUILDSAFE®.
If the Builder does not agree that the work needs to be done under its contract, it can refer the matter to dispute.
At the end of the day, if the contract goes the way it was intended, the builder will be paid all of what is entitled to within a month of finishing the works - which is certainly a lot quicker than what is unfortunately often the case.
WHAT HAPPENS AT THE END OF THE PROJECT - STEP BY STEP
When the Contractor considers the contract works to be Practically Complete (ie complete apart from any minor problems such as a door not closing properly), the Builder must complete the BUILDSAFE Notice of Practical Completion (which is available on the Website for registered users) and send it to the Owner.
The Owner must immediately respond to the Notice of Practical Completion and either, confirm that the Contractor has achieved Practical Completion, or advise the Contractor of those items that the Owner considers are still to be completed before the works have reached Practical Completion by completing the BUILDSAFE Notice of Incomplete Work - Practical Completion. To confirm that the Builder has reached Practical Completion, the Owner must complete the BUILDSAFE Certificate of Practical Completion which is available on the website for registered users.
Once Practical Completion has been achieved, BUILDSAFE SECURITY will release 90% of the Security Amount to those parties who are registered with BUILDSAFE including the Contractor and any Registered Subcontractors in the appropriate proportions.
There is then a 20 Working Day period called the Defects Liability Period. This gives the Owner the opportunity to properly inspect the works and to notify the builder of any defects that need to be fixed or works that need to be completed. For example, the correct handles for the bathroom cabinets have been installed or the painting has been tidied up. The Owner must notify the Contractor (and the Contractor must in turn notify the relevant Subcontractor(s)) of any defects in workmanship or materials that become apparent by completing the BUILDSAFE Notice of Defects form on the Website.
The Contractor and relevant Subcontractors must promptly remedy any defects that are notified by the Owner during, or immediately after, the Defects Liability Period.
Upon the expiry of the Defects Liability Period and when the Contractor has completed the Contract Works and remedied all defects notified by the Owner during the Defects Liability Period, the Contractor must complete the Notice of Completion which is found on the Website and send the Notice to the Owner so that the Owner can certify Completion.
As with Practical Completion, the Owner must immediately respond to the Notice of Completion and either, certify that the Contractor has achieved Completion by completing the BUILDSAFE Certificate of Completion on the Website, or notify the Contractor of those items of incomplete or defective work still to be completed and/or rectified so as to achieve Completion by completing the Notice of Incomplete Work - Completion, on the Website.
Once Completion has been certified by the Owner, BUILDSAFE SECURITY will release the final 10% of the Security Amount to the Contractor and any Registered Subcontractors) in the appropriate proportions.
Our services are then complete and your registration for this project comes to an end. Of course you are welcome to use the BUILDSAFE Scheme for your next project - all you need to do is let us know and we will reactivate your registration.
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