You signed a $62,000 pool contract in February with a “completion by November” date. You have paid $48,000 in progress payments. It is now late December. What you have: a concrete shell, no tiles, no coping, no pump, no fence, and a builder who has said “next week” five times and now doesn’t answer the phone. The kids have been told “no swimming this summer”. You are furious.
You are allowed to be. Now do something with it.
You have a contract and a law
Pool building is residential building work in every state, which means it is covered by your state’s home building law (and usually needs a licensed builder, a written contract, and home warranty insurance over a threshold). Plus, the Australian Consumer Law applies:
- Section 60 – due care and skill. Abandoning a half-built pool is not skilful.
- Section 61 – fit for purpose and completed in a reasonable time. If the contract has a date, that is the time.
- Section 267 – if the failure is major (an unfinished pool clearly is), you can terminate, recover money for work not done, and claim the extra cost of getting someone else to finish it.
Don’t just terminate by text
Terminating a building contract the wrong way can put you in breach. Do it properly:
- Check the contract for the “default” or “breach” clause. It usually requires a written notice giving the builder a set number of days (often 10) to fix the breach.
- Our Pool Builder Demand is a formal demand, not your contract’s default or termination notice; that notice must follow your contract’s clause.
- Keep paying nothing until they perform. Progress payments are for progress.
Ready to put it in writing?
Answer 3 quick questions to check you have the details your document needs, and see your next step.
1. Who did the work?
2. How much is at stake?
3. Do you have it in writing?
Your result is ready. Where should we send it?
Get two quotes to finish
Have two other pool companies quote to complete the job. If the cheapest is $28,000 and you only have $14,000 left to pay under the original contract, the $14,000 difference is your loss. That is what you claim on top of any refund.
Check the insurance
If your builder has gone under or disappeared, home warranty insurance (called different things by state) may cover incomplete work. Home warranty non-completion claims have their own conditions (in Queensland the contract must be validly ended); check your state scheme.
Escalation
Most states have a building tribunal or a Fair Trading dispute process for exactly this. Your Letter of Demand is the first exhibit. The builder’s silence is the second. A formal letter puts your position on record.
A pool is supposed to be the best thing you ever bought. Don’t let it be a $48,000 hole.
Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.
What happens when you put the builder on formal notice
Same problem. What a prepared case looks like.