Bunbury tradie convicted of eight building offences, with more than $30,000 paid for work never completed

A Bunbury tradesman has been convicted of eight building offences relating to renovations that were still incomplete when the elderly client died, despite being paid more than $30,000 for the work. Gregory Noel John Hall — trading as Longhorn Building Company and Down South Bathroom Renovations — did not attend Bunbury Magistrates Court on July 15, and was convicted in his absence. The offences included four counts of non-compliant home building contracts, one count of non-compliant variations on a contract, and one count of having no home indemnity insurance. He was also charged with one count of entering into a home building contract which required a more than 6.5 per cent deposit, and one count of undertaking a prescribed building service without being a registered building service contractor. According to a statement released by the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety, a Building and Energy WA representation said the elderly client’s daughter engaged Hall to carry out renovations at her father’s home in Bunbury. That included renovations to the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry, as well as structural alterations to the roof frame, replacing the roof sheeting and ceilings, installing new doorways and window-frames, and removing walls and asbestos sheeting. Hall was paid a total of $37,635 for the work, but the statement said the work was never finished. The statement said only a registered building services contractor could legally carry out the project because it was valued at more than $20,000 and required a building permit — but Hall has never been a registered builder. The homeowner was also not provided with a home indemnity insurance certificate, which is compulsory. Hall further breached WA’s building contract laws by accepting a 69.4 per cent deposit when only a maximum of 6.5 per cent is allowed before starting residential building work valued at $7500 or more. In addition, four contracts provided to the owner by Hall were not signed or dated, and were missing full terms and conditions, with a contract variation also non-compliant. The statement said Magistrate Joanne Andretich noted the elderly client had died before seeing the work completed, adding Hall had a “very laissez-faire” approach to contracting. She said consumers should expect “those performing building works are correctly registered as builders” and ordered Hall to pay $6100 in fines and costs. As part of the DEMIRS statement, Building Commissioner Saj Abdoolakhan said Hall’s conduct was unacceptable. “Building laws in Western Australia are ultimately about ensuring we have safe and compliant buildings,” he said. “Disregard for the rules puts homeowners at risk and undermines building industry participants who follow the registration, insurance, contract and deposit requirements. “The home building works in this case were far beyond the limit allowed by an unregistered person. “Consumers are encouraged to seek evidence of a builder’s contractor registration before entering into a building contract valued at more than $20,000 and requiring a building permit.”