Melbourne Building and Construction Lawyers

As a builder or contractor, you may need a construction lawyer to provide expert advice on the legal terms of your home or commercial construction contract. We can draft a contract for you from scratch or adapt an existing contract to your specific engineering project.

Whether the contract is for a new home construction or an existing home renovation, home construction contracts can be very complex. Our Melbourne construction lawyers have helped many clients understand their rights and responsibilities under construction contracts. Many contracts have a lot of “tricky” parts that, if not considered and addressed up front, can cost you a lot of time and money down the line. Many problems can be prevented. Before you sign a contract, we can help you understand its terms and help you think through the issues that may arise and the legal consequences of agreeing to something. If modifications are required, we can also help you negotiate special conditions of the contract to suit your specific construction project.

Our building and construction attorneys can help you with:

• When you are considering terminating a construction contract
• When you are threatened with ending a construction contract
• When your contract has been terminated.

Termination of a contract is a major decision. It should not be taken hastily without prior consultation for legal advice.

Often, a carefully drafted letter and notification to the other party is required prior to terminating a building and construction contract so that the other party has an opportunity to resolve the issue.

Contracts can often be terminated if the issues are not resolved, and there are indeed good reasons for terminating the contract (which requires careful consideration).

If you require advice on such a matter, our solicitors can help you with legal advice on ending a construction contract.

We assist our clients in.

1. Interpretation and enforcement of contractual rights; and
2. Assist in mitigating damages and presenting our client's position in the best possible light when necessary.

Our construction dispute lawyers can assist clients in negotiating to avoid legal action. If litigation is required, we have experience of representing clients in all Victorian Courts and VCAT.

If you have a dispute and need legal advice from a construction dispute solicitor, we recommend that you contact us as soon as possible to resolve the issue in a timely manner.

Whether you are a builder or a contractor, a person providing a service or a recipient of a service, it is important to make sure that the terms of the deal are favourable to you and that there are no potential problems.

Our construction lawyers in Melbourne are experienced in drafting and reviewing the terms of the transaction, particularly the terms of payment and credit arrangements. Doing this in advance can save hassle and costs later on, thus preventing subsequent disputes.

If you are already in a dispute and need advice, we can also assist in resolving the dispute as quickly as possible on your behalf.

We regularly advise on company set-ups, including business structures.

Whether you choose to operate as a sole trader company or opt for a corporate trust structure, it can affect your ongoing legal liabilities and taxes.

Your needs will also change over time. As your business grows and changes, you may need to change your corporate structure.

Our construction attorneys can help you properly structure your building and construction business.

As a builder or developer, our construction solicitors can provide you with expert legal advice if you are involved in the purchase and sale of a development site.

We have property lawyers who can assist you with contracts for the sale and purchase of land, as well as the commercial and residential leases associated with them.

The relationship between contractors and subcontractors is relatively unique. It's business-to-business, and you're both in the construction industry. Disputes are common, and the party that understands their legal position usually has the advantage.

Our construction dispute solicitors can advise on the following matters relating to contractors:

• Employment Advice - A construction lawyer can help determine if a contractor is truly a contractor and assist in the event of a dispute.
• Contracts between builders, contractors and sub-contractors - Our construction lawyers in Melbourne can draft and review such contracts and provide advice when disputes arise. If matters cannot be resolved amicably, our construction litigation lawyers can represent you in court.
• Disputes Between Builders, Contractors, and Subcontractors - If there is a dispute, small disagreements can quickly turn into expensive disputes. It is wise to quickly address the legal issues and attempt to resolve the dispute.

If you need advice on legal matters between builders, contractors and sub-contractors, our team of construction dispute lawyers can assist you.

Our construction lawyers in Melbourne can advise on the following matters:

• Building, plumbing, electrical and gas installation licences - including applications, suspensions and appeals
• developer application
• Water use
• Sewerage/drainage services
• Tree protection
• Fire management and fire safety
• explosives
• Asbestos removal
• Public land use

Our building and construction attorneys can assist you in preparing documents and representing you in court on all of the above matters.

Not all builders are good builders.

A home warranty claim can be made against the builder because of defective building work.

Unless the builder is insolvent, untraceable or deceased, an insurance claim cannot be made against him. Therefore, in many cases, a claim cannot be made through a building insurance policy.

Our attorneys are experienced in construction defect claims. There are a number of useful remedies that can help you repair the defect and/or obtain the right amount of compensation for you.

We know building experts who can identify defects and quote for work to fix them to assist us in helping you get a fair claim.

We seek to resolve disputes without resorting to litigation, but if necessary, our construction dispute lawyers will prosecute builders in VCAT or the courts.

If you have a dispute with your builder and need legal advice to negotiate with them, or you would like us to negotiate for you, please contact us.

Debt recovery in construction matters is not straightforward. There may be set-offs and counterclaims, so careful consideration of debt recovery methods is essential.

Our experienced debt recovery team is usually successful in recovering outstanding payments.

We can also defend payment claims for clients who owe money.

We can provide our clients with a clear explanation of all financial contracts and personal guarantees related to

• Lending contracts of banks and financial institutions related to land mortgages
• Project funding
• Equipment financing

Our building and construction solicitors will ensure that the documents are fully explained to you and that they are signed correctly.