Major changes brought about by the Building Quality Assurance Act

If you are involved in construction projects, you have probably heard about a new law that will take effect in phases starting in 2017: The Building Quality Assurance Act. This law has caused a lot of commotion. Major changes are being made. Two significant changes I pick out.

In the current system, structures requiring building permits are pre-tested against the (minimum) requirements of the 2012 Building Code. That will be different. From now on, quality assurance will be left to the market. There will be a new authorization organization that can give instrument providers permission to apply a quality instrument they have developed in the market.

The "instrument" prescribes how the design is tested and how implementation is monitored. This should guarantee quality. Its compliance will be entrusted to a qualified (independent) party. The government's hope is to deploy instruments that are more progressive than the fairly static (minimum) standards of the Building Code. In other words, stimulate innovation, but also sustainability. Many market parties are already busy creating instruments so that this can be 'practiced' before the law takes effect.

A second important change, effective January 1, 2018, deals with delivery of construction works. Currently, it is still the case that the contractor is released from liability for defects that the client "should reasonably have discovered" at the time of delivery. In the eyes of many, contractors were making unreasonable use of the rule by telling clients "you could have seen this at the time of delivery, so I'm not fixing anything," even though it is really the contractor who performed his work defectively. The law is changing on this point. In the case of defects reported by the client after completion, the contractor must prove that the defect is "not attributable to him.

But how can a contractor prove that a defect is not attributable to him? For example: three months after completion, a client reports a large scratch in a window. Is that attributable to the contractor? Prove it isn't. What should a contractor do then? Record the condition of the work at the time of delivery in great detail, for example by recording the entire work with photographs or on film: i.e., the Ipad recording.

Because the regulation of mandatory law, in the case of private clients, it is not possible to deviate from the legal regulation. In the case of professional principals, it is possible, but it must be done expressly, in the agreement you are using.

In short, the new law requires action from the contracting industry. I recommend not waiting and making the necessary changes in your company in time!
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