Failure to comply with a Building Commissioner’s order to fix a Stoneville modular home has cost a building company and its director almost $7,000 in fines and costs.
Following a prosecution by Building and Energy, guilty pleas were entered at Midland Magistrate’s Court on 4 October 2021 for Hammond Park business Gran Designs WA Pty Ltd (BC14508, expired) and David Mario Polak (BC/BP14637) of Forrestdale for offences under WA’s building complaints legislation.
Gran Designs WA was a registered building contractor that specialised in prefabricated modular homes, but the company is no longer trading.
The court was told that the home owner lodged a complaint with Building and Energy in 2018 about defects and late completion of the work.
The Building Commissioner ordered Gran Designs WA to pay $6,022 towards the owner’s rent due to the project delays and to rectify issues with sub-floor framing and window extrusions.
The company transferred the rent money to the owner but failed to comply with the building remedy order and a subsequent payment order.
Magistrate Michelle Harries fined Gran Designs WA $5,000 and awarded costs of $924, while Mr Polak was fined $850 as the company’s sole director at the time. The Magistrate noted the parties’ early guilty plea and partial compliance with the orders through the rent payment.
Building and Energy Executive Director Saj Abdoolakhan said it was unacceptable for builders to disregard their obligations.
“Failure to comply with a Building Commissioner’s order is not only illegal, it can also leave home owners feeling uncomfortable or even unsafe at their own properties if building issues are not rectified,” he said.
“The building complaint resolution process is an important mechanism to ensure parties get a fair go. It is imperative that building service providers who do not follow through with their responsibilities face penalties.”
In May 2021, a separate WorkSafe case against Gran Designs WA concluded at Bunbury Magistrates Court with a $175,000 fine related to a young worker’s death at a building site in Yarloop.
