Piara Waters builder fined for negligent conduct

PIARA Waters builder Param Jeet Singh Karnail Singh has been fined $5000 by the Building Services Board for negligent conduct relating to building work he carried out at properties in Willetton and Mirrabooka in 2015.

The Board found Singh was negligent under the Building Services (Registration) Act 2011 in that he entered into contracts for and carried out building services at the two properties without a valid registration.

Both of the contracts provided for him to receive a deposit in excess of 6.5 per cent of the total value of work; and he demanded a payment from the Willetton property owners without having first provided them with a copy of the policy of home indemnity insurance.

The Willetton contract was for the construction of a granny flat to a value of $130,955.

The Mirrabooka contract was for an addition to an existing home to a value of $46,000.

Both owners paid Singh a deposit of about 40 per cent of the total contract value.

At the time the works were carried out, Singh was registered as a building practitioner but not a building contractor and therefore was not entitled to contract for the work.

Despite this, Singh named himself as the building contractor when applying to the City of Canning and City of Stirling for the respective building permits and to an insurance company for home indemnity insurance.

Building commissioner Peter Gow said Singh put owners at risk.

“The disciplinary matters committed by Singh put the property owners at risk of significant personal and financial loss,” he said.

“Thankfully for the owners, the insurance company in this instance has confirmed that the home indemnity insurance policies issued in relation to both sites are effective and will be honoured in the event of a claim.”

At the time of print, the owners of the Willetton property were still in dispute with Singh regarding a number of workmanship issues.

“The Building Commission is committed to removing this type of conduct from the building industry,” Mr Gow said.

“We will continue to hold to account and name those who put the public interest and the reputation of the building industry at risk.”

Builders and consumers can find out more about their rights and responsibilities in the building process on the Building Commission website or phone 1300 489 099.