Victorian Consolidated Legislation

Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995 - SECT 35

Building owner may withdraw from a contract if cooling-off warning not given

35. Building owner may withdraw from a contract if cooling-off warning not
given



(1) If a major domestic building contract does not contain a notice advising
the building owner of the building owner's possible rights under section 34
(as required by section 31(1)(n)), the building owner may withdraw from the
contract within 7 days of becoming aware that the contract should have
contained such a notice.

(2) To do this, the building owner must-

   (a)  give the builder; or

   (b)  leave at the address shown as the builder's address in the contract;
        or

   (c)  serve on the builder in accordance with any notice or service
        provision in the contract-

a written notice signed by the building owner that states that the building
owner withdraws from the contract under this section.

(3) The Director may specify that the notice is to be given in a form approved
by him or her12. If the Director does this, the building owner must give the
notice in that form.





(4) If a contract is ended under this section, the builder is entitled to a
reasonable price for the work carried out under the contract to the date the
contract is ended.

(5) However, a builder may not recover under subsection (4) more than the
builder would have been entitled to recover under the contract.

Division 4-Provisions applying after the contract is signed