I am still reeling at how much all the plans, reports and application fees have cost. Some years ago in the UK, we developed a golf driving range and 9 hole golf course, a project worth 10 times our house refurbishment and the total fees to get DA (planning permission) were half of what we have paid here in Oz. Ouch!!
The next shock came when we received the quotes for a small job at my Mother-in-Law's apartment. I have a pretty good idea of how much the job would cost in the UK and the quotes are at least 30% higher. I had already got this sort of warning. Architects had advised us that for our renovations, we should budget $4500 per square metre. In the UK, you can build a house to the highest standards for $3750 per square metre. Ouch!!
While I already knew I needed to get an owner/builder license, I have learnt that you can only get one every 5 years! I find it bad enough that I need a license to work on my own house, but to limit me to only once every 5 years seems unfair. There are better ways of stopping developers using owner/builder licenses as a loophole. How about a primary residence rule?
The next shock came when we received the quotes for a small job at my Mother-in-Law's apartment. I have a pretty good idea of how much the job would cost in the UK and the quotes are at least 30% higher. I had already got this sort of warning. Architects had advised us that for our renovations, we should budget $4500 per square metre. In the UK, you can build a house to the highest standards for $3750 per square metre. Ouch!!
While I already knew I needed to get an owner/builder license, I have learnt that you can only get one every 5 years! I find it bad enough that I need a license to work on my own house, but to limit me to only once every 5 years seems unfair. There are better ways of stopping developers using owner/builder licenses as a loophole. How about a primary residence rule?
I nearly became a law breaker with my plans to do some rewiring. In the UK anybody can do any work on their own house. Not only have I rewired houses, I have done plumbing as well as gas plumbing. My Aussie friends look at me in surprise, citing the dangers of electricity and the chances of fire or electrocution. Well, in the UK we don't have any issues with this - houses aren't burning down due to DIY and people aren't dropping dead while sorting the electrics of their houses. I suspect and hope that Aussies are no more stupid than the Brits, or does the government know something I don't!
I think the construction industry licensing scheme seems to offer good consumer protection against cowboy builders and tradesmen but at a price. However, to stop me working on my own house without a license is, in my opinion, a government intrusion too far. Or do I have to accept that an Englishman's home is no longer his castle but a bottomless pit just waiting for the Tradies to discover it!
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