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Dangerous deck: Victorian builder fined $70k after illegal renovation
A Victorian builder from Officer has been found guilty of four charges relating to unregistered building and plumbing work at a Belgrave home.
The state’s Building and Plumbing Commission (BPC) said the offences included carrying out building and plumbing work without the required accreditation, performing building work without a permit, and failing to have the required domestic building insurance (DBI).
Joshua Mionnet, 33, the sole trader under the business name Constructed Building Group, responded to a mother of three’s Facebook post about work required on a carport and pergola.
Mionnet quoted $35,000 for the tasks and informed the home owner that a building permit was not required, the Dandenong Magistrates’ Court heard.
The builder asked for a 50 per cent deposit, well in excess of the maximum 5 per cent, and continually asked for progress payments while adding extra charges not included in the original quote.
Despite the home owner paying a total of $43,000, an independent inspection report revealed that the incomplete work was defective.
Following a further inspection from Yarra Ranges Council, it was confirmed that the decking was dangerous and should not be used.
The mother requested a refund from Mionnet and attempted mediation, but did not hear from him again.
She later took Mionnet to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), and he was ordered to pay $55,000 in damages, but the penalty has not been paid.
According to Magistrate Hugh Radford, Mionnet’s offending was extremely serious and required a substantial penalty as a punishment and deterrent.
The Victorian BPC’s commissioner and chief executive officer, Anna Cronin, said the court outcome should serve as a warning to those who conduct illegal building work and put consumers at risk.
“The BPC is working hard to hold unregistered builders to account but the best way to stop them is not to hire them in the first place.”
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