Almost every residential building dispute in South Africa traces back to something nobody asked before signing. Not fraud, usually — just two people who assumed the same words meant the same thing.
These are the questions worth asking while you still have the only real leverage you will ever have: you have not signed yet. None of them are aggressive. A good builder will answer all twenty without blinking, and several of them will improve his job as much as yours.
On who you are dealing with
- Are you registered with the NHBRC, and what is your registration number? For a new home this is not optional — see the NHBRC and CIDB guide.
- Will this house be enrolled with the NHBRC, and who pays the enrolment fee?
- Is the entity on the contract the same entity I am paying? Ask to see it written down. A quote on one letterhead and banking details for another name is where this goes wrong.
- Can I speak to two clients whose houses you finished more than a year ago? Recent clients are still being charmed. Year-old clients have seen the defects.
On the price
- Is this a fixed price or a rate-based estimate, and which parts of it are provisional?
- What is excluded? Ask for the exclusions in writing, and read them before the inclusions.
- Does the price include VAT? On a R1.8m quote the difference is not a rounding error.
- What are the provisional sums and prime cost amounts, and what happens when the actual cost differs?
- Is escalation allowed, and on what basis?
On payment
- What triggers each payment — a date, or work actually completed and inspected?
- Who certifies that the stage is complete? If the answer is “the builder”, that is worth knowing now.
- How much is held back as retention, and when is it released?
- What is the deposit for, specifically? A deposit that buys materials on site is different from one that funds the builder’s cash flow.
On changes and time
- How does a change get priced and agreed? The honest answer involves something in writing before the work starts — see variations.
- What is the completion date, and what are the grounds for extending it?
- Are there penalties for late completion, and are they realistic enough to actually be enforced?
- Who is on site day to day, and how do I reach them?
On the end of the job
- What does practical completion mean on this contract, and who decides it has happened?
- How long is the defects period, and how do I report a defect?
- What do I get at handover — as-built drawings, electrical certificate of compliance, plumbing certificate, warranties, manuals?
- If we disagree, what happens next? A contract that says nothing about disputes says the answer is court.
If a builder becomes irritated by question four, you have learned something more useful than the answer. The point of asking is partly the answers and partly watching how they are received.
This is general guidance for people about to sign a residential building contract, not legal advice. For a contract of any size it is worth having an attorney read it — the cost of an hour is small next to the cost of the thing it prevents.