Taking Possession of Newly Built House

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Paul1977

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#273172 9-Aug-2020 10:11

This is probably the wrong forum, but none of the others seemed appropriate.

Our house is due to be completed next week, and they have handover scheduled for Friday.

However I've read in several places (and I'm sure our solicitor mentioned it early on as well) that we shouldn't take possession until the Code of Compliance Certificate has been issued. My understanding is that this can take a while after the final council inspection (which I'm assuming hasn't happened yet).

If this has not been issued by the scheduled handover date, should we be insisting on delaying final payment and handover until it's been issued?

Thanks

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Stu

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#2536945 9-Aug-2020 10:17

I absolutely would wait for the CoC. I know there are apartment blocks sitting empty because the CoC hasn't been completed. And some are waiting so long people are using the Sunset clause to get their money back due to this delay, and succeeding.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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Linux

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#2536949 9-Aug-2020 10:25

My sister has a new house build and waiting for CoC as well and it's taking ages

k1w1k1d

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#2536954 9-Aug-2020 10:45

Quick chat with your lawyer would be my advice.

Also a thorough walk through checking for imperfections etc that need attention.

Flickky

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#2536963 9-Aug-2020 11:05

FWIW we’re about to take possession of a new build in Auckland this week and the tentative settlement date was moved forward because the council came back early with the CoC (if I recall it took 6 working days). Good luck either way.

muzzybee

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#2536965 9-Aug-2020 11:09

We took possession once we had passed the final inspection and they issues the master build paperwork.

Stu

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#2537012 9-Aug-2020 11:34

Generally banks won't hand over the final payment until the council has completed the final CoC checklist. It can take a while for the actual certificate to materialise, and a copy of the checklist is apparently acceptable (as long as it's a PASS).

You'll probably also find you'll have insurance issues, moving in before the CoC is achieved.

Maybe check with your lawyer before you complete your final inspection and signoff with the builder.

People often mistake me for an adult because of my age.

Keep calm, and carry on posting.

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billgates

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#2537028 9-Aug-2020 11:54

Our handover is tomorrow for our build :)

We got builder to put in our building contract amongst few other things which our lawyer recommended that the final payment which is an amount that we decided upon as well will not be paid until COC is issued. The builder changed all the conditions we requested in the contract but the line for COC they mentioned it along the lines of “Final payment is due when practical code of completion certificate is issued or COC.” Before signing the dotted line we read through our changes and captured this and got the builder to cross out the ‘or’ part and put ‘and’ I think but regardless we made it clear as well before signing and and in emails before hand final payment will only be made after COC.

We got our practical completion certificate last week and our insurance broker has insured our home and contents based off that no problem so we can move in anytime after handover although they also initially mentioned early on they will require an COC as well but I mentioned to them later on that building works insurance expires soon and I do not want to pay to extend that again. Our COC should follow soon as council inspection is booked next week. The builder needs to stay on top of trades and get producer statements as soon as they finish their work. We handed over the producer statements for trades we hired to the builder so it’s all going to be submitted by them.

Do whatever you want to do man.

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Andib

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#2537033 9-Aug-2020 12:06

We have just taken possession of our new build in Auckland 2 weeks ago. Our lawyers said it's fairly common now for new builds as COC can take 20 working days to be issued and people wanting to move in asap. We had to sign a waiver the COC hadn't been issued but received a certificate of practical competition from the builder (along with the new build warranty) & council sign off certificate saying it's passed its final inspection.

Our bank didn't have an issue with it provided we had the required insurance as the way the contract was worded was the final progress payment was due at practical completion with a minimal amount ($5k) held until the COC is issued.
Our insurer only needed to see the practical completion certificate from the builder & final inspection pass certificate from the council.

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alasta

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#2537075 9-Aug-2020 12:30

The contract for mine states that settlement will occur on the fifth working day after practical completion, fifth working day after code of compliance certificate issued, or tenth working day after the title is issued, whichever occurs later.

Hopefully it doesn't take the council a long time to issue the CoC certificate because I have already had enough bureaucratic delays with this project.