A collapsed father and son building company has been hit with a $25,000 fine for carrying out unauthorised work and demanding premature payments for work on four Perth properties.
A collapsed father and son building company has been hit with a $25,000 fine for carrying out unauthorised work and demanding premature payments for work on Shenton Park, Kensington and North Perth properties.
Director and supervisor Alan Bradley Mason and his son and business manager Luke David Mason of Ranlak Pty Ltd were fined a combined $25,000 following State Administrative Tribunal mediation with Building and Energy WA.
The building duo were contracted in December 2020 to carry out residential building work on four properties across Shenton Park, Kensington and North Perth, according to the industry watchdog.
Ranlak was found negligent while undertaking projects at a Kensington site and two Shenton Park properties without the required building permits and home indemnity insurance, according to the SAT mediation on July 13.
According to Building and Energy WA, Ranlak’s home indemnity insurance eligibility had been put on hold in December 2020 due to financial concerns.
The builder also provided amended documents to City of Subiaco that gave the mistaken impression of a valid home indemnity insurance policy for one of the two Shenton Park sites.
The City granted the building permit based on the misleading documents.
According to the mediation, the company also demanded payments from the owners of one of the Shenton Park properties and the North Perth property when the required work had not been completed or was unlikely to be finished given Ranlak’s financial issues.
In September 2021, the building company entered liquidation and its building contractor registration expired the following year.
Ranlak was also found negligent while carrying out services at one of the two Shenton Park properties after continuing work despite a City of Nedlands building order prohibiting it.
“During SAT mediation, Building and Energy accepted in mitigation the significant impact of COVID-19 on the business, the parties’ lack of prior dealings with the building regulator and the Masons’ genuine remorse, admission of fault and assistance with resolving the allegations,” the industry watchdog said.
Building and Energy Executive Director Saj Abdoolakhan said although the building sector had faced challenges in recent years, building service providers must continue to uphold their responsibilities.
“It is unacceptable to carry out work without the required building permits and, in one case, when a stop-work order was in place,” he said.
“This undermines the community safety principles at the heart of our building approvals processes.
“Likewise, operating without home indemnity insurance and accepting payments when the work hasn’t been done, or is unlikely to be completed, puts home owners at significant financial risk if issues do occur.”
