How long are the statutory warranty periods in NSW?

Under the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW), the statutory warranty period is six years for a major defect and two years for any other defect, running from the date the work was completed.

What counts as a major element of a building?

A major element is a load bearing or stability essential component. It includes foundations, walls, roofs, columns, beams, fire safety systems and waterproofing. Waterproofing being a major element is why balcony and shower leaks often fall inside the six year period rather than the two year one.

Is the duty of care period different from the warranty period?

Yes. The Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW) creates a duty of care to avoid economic loss caused by defects, and an action under it must generally be brought within ten years of completion. It is a separate pathway from the Home Building Act statutory warranties.

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Is the warranty clock still running?

Before an owners corporation raises a levy to fix something, it is worth knowing whether somebody else is still on the hook for it. NSW sets three separate periods and they all run from completion. This works out the dates.

When was the work completed?

For a new building, the date of the occupation certificate. For remedial or renovation work, the date that work reached practical completion. If you are not sure, use the earliest date you can evidence, because that is the conservative one.

Which period applies depends on the element

The six year period covers a defect in a major element. That is a load bearing or stability essential part of the building. The list is below, and waterproofing is on it, which surprises people.

Foundations
Walls
Roofs
Columns
Beams
Fire safety systems
Waterproofing

Whether your particular defect is a major defect in one of these is a legal question, and it is genuinely arguable in a lot of cases. We are not answering it for you here. We are showing you both dates so you know what is at stake either way.

Major defect, 6 years

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Defects in a major element, including waterproofing.
Waiting

All other defects, 2 years

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Everything that is not a major element.
Waiting

Duty of care, 10 years

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A separate pathway under the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020, not a statutory warranty.
Waiting

This is a date calculator, not legal advice. We are a licensed builder, not a lawyer. The periods shown are the ones set out in the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) and the Design and Building Practitioners Act 2020 (NSW). Whether a claim is available to you, when a period actually started, and whether anything has paused or extended it are all legal questions that turn on your documents. If a date here is close, speak to a strata lawyer rather than relying on this page.

Why we put this in front of the quote.

It is a strange thing for a builder to publish, because it sometimes means the work does not happen.

If a building is five years old and the balconies are leaking, the question of who pays is not settled by getting three quotes. Waterproofing is a major element, so the six year period is very likely still open, and that changes what the owners corporation should be doing first. We would rather tell you that at the start than price a job an owners corporation should not be funding.

Where the periods have closed, at least everyone knows, and the conversation moves on to scope and staging without a year of argument first.

The waterproofing point, specifically.

Waterproofing sits in the major element list alongside foundations and load bearing walls. That is why a balcony or a shower leak often falls inside the six year period when people assume it is a two year item, and it is also why a builder who touches the waterproofing on a balcony takes on six years of exposure for that balcony rather than two.

It is the single most consequential line in the statutory warranty regime for strata buildings, and almost nobody mentions it until there is a dispute.

Not sure what you are looking at?

Send us the defect and the dates. We will tell you what we think, whether or not there is a job in it for us.

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