Ready To Renovate? It's Now Easier Than Ever

Your house, your castle, your renovations. Making additions and adjustments gives you the power to either add value or comfort to your property, in exactly the way you want, and in the current economic climate, it’s also fairly easy to make happen. Low interest rates and healthy labour markets mean that when you want to renovate, your options are endless.

That being said, it’s still a delicate process that you need to fully understand before you start, otherwise you can end up with sub-standard work and a lot of money wasted. This where the state government is making things much easier.

Get all the information you need before the renos start

The beauty of renovations is that you can make huge additions, like bedrooms or even entire new floors (council permitting). However, major work can be risky if you don’t check the relevant licences, insurance details and the history of builders you work with.

Make a list, check it twice, and you should be working with a certified builder.

The state government adjusted legislation around this in September. On major projects, builders have to provide the customer with a document that outlines all of your rights and who to contact if things go wrong or there are any disputes.

It’s a small step, but an important one in terms of making sure you have the power to act if renovations don’t go as planned. Coupled with the introduction of the new body Domestic Building Dispute Resolution Victoria, your power to keep dodgy renovators in check is going to be amplified greatly.

Resolve everything with the click of a button

On top of this, Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) launched a new online tool last month which is designed to make the renovations process as easy as possible for everyone.

Not sure about your responsibilities as an owner-builder? The new tool has it covered. Can’t make sense of the plans to renovate your backyard and deck? The answers are all with CAV.”Whether you’re not sure where to begin or you’ve hit a hurdle along the way, the building tool will make it easier and more straightforward to find all the information you need,” added Simon Cohen, director of CAV.

It’s so easy to go with the flow and accept your builder’s word as law. But as we see in the courts almost every week, corners will get cut and your renovations can suffer for it. There’s so much information out there to help you with your renovations – make sure to use it.