What happens if you fail to enrol a home?
This article is produced as a result of a visit that occurred on 2nd March 2006 in the areas of Langebaan on West Coast, approximately 100km outside Cape Town.
The outsourced inspector D van Hansen issued a Non Technical Non-Compliant to a builder. Mr Siebrits. It was later discovered that Mr. Siebrits was in fact the home owner who resides in Cape Town and builds primarily over weekends.
At the time of issuing the non compliance only the foundations and foundation walls were built. At a later site visit it was discovered that the owner/builder carried on with the construction without any intention to register or enrol the home with the NHBRC. The owner made use of local labour without any supervision on site.
As a regulatory body mandated to protect the rights and interests of the housing consumers, the role of the NHBRC has been significant in curbing the continued abuse of home owners and their exposure to poor workmanship, by those builders who do not comply with their obligations in the terms of the Housing Consumers Protection act, Act 95 of 1998
In its endeavour to protect the housing consumers against defaulting and fraudulent builders, the NHBRC, with its formidable force of qualified staff, does issue orders to builders who fail to comply with the set technical standards and have a right to demolish, not only a poorly constructed house, nut a non compliance house. This includes non compliance and builders failure to register with the NHBRC or enrol the project with the NHBRC.
The sight of cracking walls, water leak roofs and obvious cracked foundations were sufficient exhibition of the so called builder, Mr Siebrits’s incompetence. His poor workmanship, according to the NHBRC’s technical report, is a danger to the unsuspected new homeowners and prospective homebuyers who are continuously tricked or robbed their lifetime savings by such builders.
As a matter of fact, housing consumers are once again reminded to report such acts by homebuilders in their respective communities as well as through our toll free hotline so that such matters could be resolved. In cases where a housing consumer wishes to employ the serves of any builder, he or she must ensure that the homebuilder is registered with the NHBRC and the property is registered and enrolled with the NHBRC.
The Purpose of these requirements and processes is to protect the housing consumers against builders of Mr Siebrits’s character, whereby through the payments of enrolment fees on the property, the NHBRC would cover such a property in the 5 year Warranty Scheme, and in the case of structural defects the organisation, as a protector would be at liberty to use funds to rectify the house.
To date the NHBRC has spent more than R25.6 million on remedial works across the country, while the amount of R4 261 941 has been spent in the last financial year. The remedial works were undertaken as a result of housing structures which demonstrated poor workmanship and non compliance to the Act.
The NHBRC will continue to live to its promise of protecting the rights and interests of housing consumers and thereby ensure that the dream of delivering quality housing becomes reality!
NHBRC (22 June, 2006)
