The Building Services Board has fined a South West builder $5,000 for negligent conduct after he was named on a building permit to construct a house in Yarloop, but allowed an unregistered third party to do the work.

Michael Kenneth Cheeseman (BC101905, BP14081), a registered building contractor and building practitioner from Boyanup, was listed on the building permit and contract for the $83,000 three-bedroom house in 2017.

However, a different business – which is not a registered builder – carried out the work, engaged and paid the trades and had all dealings with the client.

The client was unaware of Mr Cheeseman until she lodged a complaint with Building and Energy about workmanship issues at the house.

The workmanship matter concluded in the State Administrative Tribunal in December 2018 with Mr Cheeseman and the other business both complying with a rectification and payment order.

Building and Energy A/Executive Director Saj Abdoolakhan welcomed the Building Services Board’s recent finding, saying Mr Cheeseman’s negligence had put the community at risk by enabling an unregistered builder to undertake major works.

“For safety and quality reasons, registration is compulsory for prescribed building work as it ensures a builder has appropriate qualifications and experience,” Mr Abdoolakhan said.

“These rules are designed to protect consumers and the integrity of the building industry. All registered builders must comply with their regulatory responsibilities and be aware that they could be held liable for work carried out under any building permit with their name on it.”

Visit the Building and Energy website (commerce.wa.gov.au/buildersearch or via dmirs.wa.gov.au) to check if a builder’s registration is current.

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Media contact: Sarah Roberts – 0466 409 828 or CPmedia@demirs.wa.gov.au

Note: BC and BP numbers refer to registration as a building contractor or building practitioner. The registers of building service providers are available at commerce.wa.gov.au/buildersearch