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Hello, a retaining wall on my property is failing. I had a builder recently examine it and said it was poorly constructed, and would require significant costs to have it rebuilt to an engineer's standard. I'm the second owner of the property and it was only built 9 years ago. As the wall was less than 1.5m in height, no building consent was required. Is there any recourse to the original builder?
Already Tried: Web search, dbh, WCC website,
Hi Welcome to JustAnswer. My first response will follow shortly. Please feel free to follow up if anything is not clear
The normal limitation period for claims is 6 years but certain building act claims can be made longer (called the long stop provision)
The issue is whether this comes under that part of the Limitation Act and the Building Act
Thank you. How do I go about find out find out whether this would fall under the long stop provision? Having never been involved in a situation like this before, do I go through the Building Act to see whether my situation is covered?
The answer may says be the Limitation Act which
(1)A claim's late knowledge date is the date (after the close of the start date of the claim's primary period) on which the claimant gained knowledge (or, if earlier, the date on which the claimant ought reasonably to have gained knowledge) of all of the following facts:
(a)the fact that the act or omission on which the claim is based had occurred:
(b)the fact that the act or omission on which the claim is based was attributable (wholly or in part) to, or involved, the defendant:
(c)if the defendant’s liability or alleged liabil
So I assume you had late knowledge of the wall and the defects. You would start by contacting the builder and putting the problem to him.
Thank you. In your experience, does one contact the other party at a personal level first to resolve the issue and only engage a 3rd party if all else fails?
That is always a good way to start. The builder may offer to repair the wall for example, at his cost
Thank you for your assistance
Experience: LLB MMgt FAMINZ 32 years qualified as lawyer