Blackhall v Fine Cut Building Pty Ltd

The applicant, Blackhall, sought relief under the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) from the respondent, Fine Cut Building Pty Ltd, due to alleged defective work in the construction of a home. The dispute came before the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which was tasked with determining whether the statutory warranty provided by the respondent was breached, and if so, the appropriate remedy.

The central legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the respondent had failed to comply with the specified purpose of the building work, whether the respondent had a statutory defence to any claim for defective work, and whether the applicant had mitigated their loss. Additionally, the Tribunal had to decide whether the appropriate remedy was a work order or a money order.

In its decision, the Tribunal found that the respondent had indeed failed to comply with the specified purpose of the building work and that the statutory defence was not applicable. The Tribunal also determined that the applicant had taken reasonable steps to mitigate their loss. Consequently, the Tribunal ruled that the appropriate remedy was a money order rather than a work order. The Tribunal ordered the respondent to pay the applicant $100,035.24 immediately. Furthermore, the Tribunal outlined the procedure for any future applications regarding costs, stipulating that written submissions must be provided to the Tribunal and the other parties by specific dates, and that the submissions should address whether a hearing on the question of costs should be dispensed with.