When builder and client fall out, custody of the compliance
certificates required under the development approval can provide
the builder with leverage. Without the certificates the
client will struggle to secure the occupation certificate.
This can prevent the work being used, sales being completed and
financiers discharged. However, care needs to be taken as a
recent case illustrates that it is by no means a certainty that the
builder is entitled to withhold those certificates.
Not many (if any) standard building contracts specifically refer
to the compliance certificates required under the development
approval. These certificates are also known as Part 4A
Certificates, being a reference to relevant part of the
Environmental Planning and Assessment Act (1979)
NSW. Despite that, given the builder's role and its
obligations in respect of complying with the law and satisfying
authority requirements, an obligation to procure and supply the
certificates to the
