Sasa Zecevic v Mohammed Abdulrahim

Sasa Zecevic sought a remedy against Mohammed Abdulrahim in the Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, arising from a dispute over building defects. The applicant, an owner-builder, had engaged the respondent, a builder, to construct a residential property. Upon completion, the applicant discovered various defects and sought compensation from the builder for the costs associated with rectifying these issues. The respondent refused to address the defects or compensate the applicant, leading to the present proceeding.

The primary legal issue for the tribunal was whether the builder was liable for the defects under the building warranty provisions. Specifically, the tribunal had to determine whether the defects were latent, whether the builder had an opportunity to rectify them during the relevant period, and whether the applicant had complied with the statutory requirements for seeking compensation. The tribunal also needed to assess the reasonableness of the claimed costs and whether any of the defects could be attributed to the applicant's own work.

The tribunal found that the builder was indeed liable for the defects, as they were latent and the builder had not provided a satisfactory explanation for their existence. The tribunal determined that the applicant had met the statutory requirements for seeking compensation, as they had notified the builder of the defects in a timely manner and provided sufficient evidence of the claimed costs. The tribunal also held that the applicant had not contributed to the defects through his own work. Consequently, the tribunal ordered the builder to compensate the applicant for the costs of rectifying the defects. The tribunal further reserved the right to determine costs at a later date.