The Prelitigation Notice and Repair Timeline, Step by Step

The claimant serves written notice describing the claim in reasonable detail sufficient to determine the nature and location, to the extent known, of the claimed violation. Receipt is the reference point for everything that follows, which makes date-stamping incoming claim notices a practical necessity rather than a formality.

The builder or the builder’s representative must acknowledge receipt of the notice, in writing, within 14 days after receipt. Section 915 releases the claimant from the prelitigation requirements if this is missed.

If the notice came from the claimant’s legal representative, or a written representation letter arrives from a homeowner’s attorney, section 913 requires the builder to include that attorney in all subsequent substantive communications.

Within 30 days of the initial inspection — or of the second inspection if one was requested — the builder may offer in writing to repair the violation. The offer must compensate the homeowner for all applicable damages recoverable under the Act within the repair timeframe. Section 920 releases the claimant if no offer is made or the builder otherwise fails to strictly comply.

Two provisions attach to the offer itself. Under section 919, the offer to repair is accompanied by an offer to mediate the dispute at the homeowner’s election. And under section 924, if the builder elects to repair some but not all of the claimed unmet standards, the builder must — at the same time it makes the offer — set forth with particularity in writing the reasons, and the support for those reasons, for not repairing all of them.

Section 924 rewards specificity. A partial offer that does not explain itself with particularity is a partial offer with a compliance problem attached.

Upon receipt of the offer to repair, the homeowner has 30 days to authorise the builder to proceed with the repair, or to request that the repair be performed by a different contractor.

Where mediation is elected, it occurs within 15 days after the request to mediate is received, at a mutually convenient location within the county where the action is pending. It is limited to four hours except as otherwise mutually agreed, before a nonaffiliated mediator selected and paid for by the builder.

Where a builder has made an offer to repair and mediation has failed to resolve the dispute, the homeowner is to allow the repair to be performed — by the builder, its contractor, or the selected contractor.

Repairs are to be commenced within 14 days of acceptance, performed with the utmost diligence, and completed as soon as reasonably possible, with every effort made to complete them within 120 days.

Section 929 provides that nothing in the chapter prohibits the builder from making only a cash offer and no repair. That is a genuine strategic option where the repair scope is uncertain or where the relationship has deteriorated to the point that returning to the property is unattractive. The homeowner remains free to accept or reject it.

Where mediation is used, applicable statutes of limitations are tolled from the date of the request to mediate until the next court day after the mediation is completed, or the 100-day period, whichever is later. Section 927 addresses the extension of limitations periods in connection with the process more generally.

Section 930 addresses the other side of compliance. Where the claimant does not conform with the chapter’s requirements, the builder may bring a motion to stay a subsequent court action until those requirements have been satisfied, and the court in its discretion may award the prevailing party attorney’s fees and costs in bringing or opposing the motion. The claimant bears the burden on such a motion of proving compliance.

Two points are worth stating openly rather than presenting with false confidence.

On the repair completion target under section 921, most sources state that every effort must be made to complete the work within 120 days. One published summary states 20 days. The 120-day figure is adopted here — it appears in more sources, and 20 days is implausibly short for construction repair work — but a builder relying on the completion window should confirm it directly.

On the extension of limitations periods under section 927, sources describe a 100-day period following completion of repair and a separate period following expiry of the response time, with less consistency than elsewhere in the chapter. This page states the tolling rule tied to mediation, which is well supported, and does not attempt precise figures for section 927 generally.