How does the building and pest inspection clause operate?
The buyer must engage licensed inspectors to complete the building and pest reports.
A buyer cannot rely on inspections from their dad or a friend who is a builder for the purposes of negotiating or terminating a contract.
It’s important to understand the scope of the inspector’s report – most won’t cover inspections of asbestos, electrical, plumbing, retaining walls and pools.
The buyer must act “reasonably” when exercising rights to terminate the contract – however what is “reasonable”?
What is reasonable can be determined by a number of factors:
- Age of the property and type of defects you could expect for a property of that age;
- Were the issues obvious at the time of inspection and could they have been considered when the offer was made;
- Quantity and severity of issues
Should you require assistance with your contract or have any questions regarding the building and pest inspection clause, please do not hesitate to contact our friendly team on 1300 765 488.
