OWNER BUILDER BLOG

I am often asked how to put a value on owner builder works for the purpose of making an application to the relevant authority for the issue of an owner builder permit or licence.

Each of the states and territories have varying requirements on the value of works which require the applicant to hold an owner builder permit and in some cases determines whether or not an approved course is required.

Following is a recent question and my subsequent answer to a visitor to our website.

“Hello RIck, 

Please explain how a value of $11,000 or more is substantiated – see BSA statement below: 

 ”It is a requirement under the Queensland Building Services Authority Act 1991 (QBSA Act) that if you wish to

perform or coordinate domestic building work on your property for a single project of a value of $11,000 or more you must hold an owner builder permit.”

In other words, who will know if I submit a building application to the council, without a Owner Builder Permit, and the value turns out to be $12,000?

 I need to determine whether I need untertake an Owner Builder course.”

Hi Scott,

The value of the works are based on an estimation of what would be fair and reasonable costs for labour and materials if it were completed by a licensed contractor.

 One of the ways they would determine this is through applying an appropriate square meter rate that would be typical for the type of project your are constructing.

 For example in the greater Brisbane region, it might be reasonable to estimate that a four bedroom home, brick veneer, tile and of traditional construction methods and average standard of finishes and fittings would cost $1250.00 per square meter for a builder to complete.

 So I guess they could, if they got serious about it, put the project out to tender to determine the value of the works.

 Keep in mind that extensions and renovations are generally more costly than new construction and that pergolas, decks, sheds etc may come down to $1000.00 per square meter or less depending on the type of construction.

 Hope this helps.

So, you see the authorities will check on your estimate of the value of works when you submit your plans for approval.

Remember, always err on the side of caution, you do not want to get off on the wrong foot with your council or local authority.

Best Regards and Happy Building

Rick

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I thought I would take the time to let all our owner builder students know we are about to launch a new series of videos over the next three weeks.

The first of these videos “What Will I Learn” takes an indepth look at the contents of our owner builder courses.

This owner builder video will outline the basic legal requirements that exist for each of the states and territories in Australia and discuss general responsibilites that an owner builder must assume when building or rennovating their own home.

In the second section of the video, we discuss each of the topics that the owner builder course covers and provides basic instructional information to help anyone thinking of becoming an owner builder to  better realise the importance of choosing the correct owner builder course.

Yes it is a promotional video and it will be available to anyone visiting our website, but it does provided vital information for anyone considering building a new home or rennovating an existing dwelling.

The next few videos we will release over the coming weeks will be more in depth and specific to each of the topics covered in our owner builder courses, including demonstrations on how to get the most from the free resources we offer each of our owner builder students.

These will of course be available to our owner builder students and client and controlled/accessed through a password protected page on our website.

Keep an eye out for them.

Oh and I forgot to mention, we are about to relaunch the student forum, sorry about the delay, but the forum hosts had a ferw server issues,we are hoping to get old posts and topics back up online but this may take a few weks.

Best Regards and Happy Owner Building

Rick Heaton

www.ownerbuildercourses.com

Technorati Tags: building your own home, owner builder, owner builder course, owner builder courses