If you’ve built or renovated your own property and plan to sell it within six years and six months, Victorian law requires you to provide a Section 137B Owner Builder Defects Report. At Elevate Building Inspections, we specialise in preparing accurate and compliant Section 137B Owner Builder reports in Melbourne, giving both you and potential buyers peace of mind.
Our licensed building inspectors provide clear, unbiased assessments of the condition of your property, ensuring you meet your legal obligations under the Building Act throughout Melbourne.
Without a valid 137B report, your contract of sale may become unenforceable. In short: the 137B report protects you, the seller, and them, the buyer — it ensures transparency, reduces risk, and gives both parties confidence to move forward.
A Section 137B Owner Builder Report is a legally mandated inspection report under the Building Act 1993 (Victoria). The report is specifically required when a property constructed or renovated by an owner-builder is sold within 6 years and 6 months of completion.
The primary purpose of the 137B report is to identify any defects in workmanship or materials, verify compliance with building regulations, and provide transparency to potential buyers. Without this report, your sales contract may be unenforceable, which can delay or even prevent the sale of your property.
In essence, the Section 137B report acts as a safeguard for both sellers and buyers, ensuring that:
Any defects in the building or renovation work are clearly documented.
Buyers are aware of potential issues before completing a purchase.
Sellers comply with Victorian building laws and avoid legal complications
The Section 137B report is required if:
You are an owner-builder. This means you have been granted an owner-builder permit and personally supervised or managed the construction.
You are selling a property within 6 years and 6 months of completing the work.
The property includes residential dwellings that fall under Victorian building regulations.
Even if your work was completed to a high standard, Victorian law is strict about compliance. A 137B report is mandatory and non-negotiable for legal property sales in this timeframe.
Our inspections cover all major building elements, including:
Structural elements: Foundations, subfloor structures, framing, load-bearing walls, and roof structures, assessed for defects, safety issues, and non-compliant workmanship.
Internal areas: Ceilings, walls, flooring, skirting, doors, windows, and fixtures, with attention to cracking, poor finishes, and functional issues.
External areas: Brickwork or cladding, external walls, fencing, driveways, paths, and surrounding areas, checking for deterioration, water ingress, and installation issues.
Plumbing & drainage (visual): Fixtures, drainage points, visible leaks, water flow, and signs of moisture damage.
Electrical (visual only): Light fittings, switches, power points, and visible safety or compliance concerns.
General workmanship: Overall quality of finishes, correct installation of materials, and defects requiring rectification that may impact safety or resale value.
After the inspection, you’ll receive a detailed Owner Builder Defects Report that includes:
Clear identification of defects
Photographs of each issue
Practical recommendations for fixing the defects
Easy-to-read formatting suitable for legal and real estate purposes
This report gives you the transparency required to comply with Victorian building regulations and gives buyers confidence in the quality of your work.
We follow a structured and methodical inspection process to assess and document the condition of a property for Section 137B Owner Builder reporting, helping vendors meet Victorian disclosure requirements with confidence.
Once your Section 137B inspection is booked, we confirm the property details, the owner-builder works completed and any known concerns, including renovations, structural alterations, visible defects or areas of deterioration.
This ensures the inspection is relevant, thorough and focused on the work that requires assessment for your Owner Builder Report.
Our licensed inspectors visually assess all safely accessible areas, including internal rooms, external walls, roof spaces, subfloors and surrounding structures.
We identify and document visible defects, workmanship issues and signs of deterioration or potentially non-compliant work. Any inaccessible or unsafe areas are clearly noted within the report.
The property's condition is documented in a clear and easy-to-read report supported by high-resolution photographs and detailed written observations.
Structural and cosmetic elements are recorded to provide an accurate snapshot of the property's condition at the time of inspection, supporting Section 137B reporting requirements.
Your Section 137B Owner Builder Report is typically delivered within 24 hours, providing an independent document suitable for inclusion within the Vendor Statement when selling an owner-built property.
Our reports are prepared to help vendors meet Victorian disclosure obligations while giving prospective buyers greater confidence in the property's documented condition.
When a property includes owner-builder work, a standard inspection may not provide the documentation required for sale. A Section 137B Owner Builder Defects Report requires a thorough assessment by inspectors who understand the building work, reporting requirements and responsibilities involved.
Elevate Building Inspections provides clear, independent Section 137B reports for homeowners, buyers and investors across Melbourne. We assess the visible condition of the owner-builder work and document defects in a practical report suitable for the property sale process.
Experienced inspectors with practical knowledge of owner-builder works, renovations, extensions and residential construction.
Reports prepared with an understanding of the requirements applying to the sale of properties containing owner-builder work.
Objective inspections completed solely for you—not the purchaser, real estate agent, builder or another interested party.
Visible defects, deterioration and workmanship concerns are explained using straightforward language and photographic evidence.
Timely digital reporting helps prevent unnecessary delays when preparing the property for sale and completing disclosure documents.
Experience across Doncaster, Templestowe, Doreen, Diamond Creek, Eltham, Greensborough, Bundoora, Heidelberg, Ivanhoe and surrounding suburbs.
Our focus is accuracy, transparency and practical reporting. You receive an independent Section 137B report that clearly documents the visible condition of the owner-builder work and helps support the property disclosure and sale process.
We use a non-destructive moisture meter to detect elevated moisture levels within walls, floors, ceilings and other building materials without causing damage. This professional-grade tool measures moisture at both surface and deeper levels, allowing us to identify hidden dampness, water ingress and moisture-related defects that may not be visible during a visual inspection. It is particularly effective for locating rising damp, roof leaks, subfloor moisture and areas at risk of timber decay — common issues in many Melbourne properties built on reactive clay soils.
Our inspections also utilise a thermal imaging camera to identify temperature variations that can indicate underlying building issues. Thermal imaging allows us to detect problems such as moisture intrusion, insulation gaps, overheating electrical components and areas of heat loss — all without invasive testing. By highlighting hot and cold spots within building elements, thermal imaging helps pinpoint concealed defects quickly and accurately, providing valuable insight into issues that may otherwise go unnoticed during a standard visual inspection.
A Section 137B Owner Builder Report is a required inspection report under Victorian legislation for properties that have been built or renovated by an owner-builder and are being sold within a specified timeframe. The report discloses the condition of the property at the time of sale.
A Section 137B report is required if you are selling a property that you built or renovated as an owner-builder within 6 years and 6 months of completing the works.
No. If the sale falls within the 6-year and 6-month timeframe, a Section 137B report must be included in the vendor statement (Section 32) before the property is sold.
A Section 137B report must be completed by a licensed and registered building practitioner who is qualified to carry out the inspection in accordance with Victorian requirements.
Yes. All inspections are carried out by fully licensed, qualified, and insured building inspectors, providing independent and reliable reporting.
No. A Section 137B report is a compliance-focused inspection required for owner-builder sales, while a standard building inspection is typically undertaken for buyer due diligence.
Most Section 137B inspections take between 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on the size, age, and complexity of the property.
Your report is typically delivered within 24 hours of the inspection.
A Section 137B report applies to residential properties that have been built or renovated by an owner-builder and are being sold within the required timeframe.
Yes. We provide Section 137B Owner Builder Reports across Melbourne and surrounding suburbs.
The report documents all visible and accessible defects at the time of inspection. It is a non-invasive inspection and does not include hidden or concealed defects.
Unapproved building works can become your responsibility after purchase. A Section 137B report provides clarity on permit compliance so you can make an informed buying decision.
