Australia, July 24 -- New South Wales Land and Environment Court issued text of the following judgement on June 24:

1. This is an appeal from orders made in the Consumer and Commercial Division (CCD) of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) on a renewal application under clause 8 of schedule 4 to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) (the NCAT Act) (the renewal decision).

2. The matter relates to residential building work comprised of bathroom and kitchen renovations with other works, including the installation of flooring, undertaken at the appellant's (the Owner's) residence under an engagement agreement dated 6 January 2021.

3. A dispute arose regarding the quality of the work, particularly the installation of the flooring and the tiling. The matter came before the CCD and on 14 September 2022 the Tribunal made work orders as described in [8] below. The Respondent (the Builder) did not comply with the orders and the Owner commenced renewal proceedings in the Tribunal.

4. After hearing the renewal proceedings, the Tribunal made the following orders:

"(1) Luff Pier Pty Ltd is to pay Elham Hafezi the sum of $32,027.78 on or before 26 July 2024; and

(2) Luff Pier Pty Ltd is to pay Elham Hafezi's costs of the proceedings as agreed or assessed."

5. The Owner has appealed against order 1 on the basis that the Tribunal erred in its assessment of compensation by failing to take into account her submission that the bathroom tiles and the flooring which were used in the renovations have been discontinued and are no longer available.

6. For the reasons which follow, we allow the appeal and remit the matter to the CCD for reconsideration.

Proceedings in the Consumer and Commercial Division

The original proceedings

7. The original decision in relation to which the renewal application was brought (the original decision) was delivered on 14 September 2022.

8. The orders in the original decision required the respondent (the Builder) to carry out the following work at the residence of the Owner with due care and skill, using suitably licensed tradespersons and with all necessary home warranty insurance pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) (HB Act) by 19 December 2022 (references to the joint tender bundle in those proceedings have been omitted):

"Floating Floor

(a) the scope of works identified in the comments of the builder's expert Mr Bournelis in the Joint Expert Scott Schedule of Mr Bournelis and Mr Xue dated 5 November 2021 ... involving the area identified in the report of Mr Buckley dated 20 May 2021.

Floor Tile Installation Wet Areas

(b) the scope of works identified in the expert report of the builder's expert Mr Bournelis dated 20 October 2021 (pp. 36-37 of the report) ...

Painting

(c) the scope of works identified in the report of the Owner's expert Mr Xue dated 19 August 2021 ..

Main Isolator Switch

(d) The scope of works identified in the report of the Owner's expert Mr Xue dated 19 August 2021 ...

Wall Crack

(e) the scope of works identified in the report of the Owner's expert Mr Xue dated 8 September 2021 ..." *Rest of the document can be viewed at: (https://www.caselaw.nsw.gov.au/decision/1979adc7b9ac7196991d304c)

Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.