Property developers should not be lulled into a false sense of
security when subcontracting with construction companies that are
registered as home builders in terms of the Housing Consumers
Protection Measures Act, No. 95 of 1998 (Housing Protection Act).
As clarified in the Constitutional Court's recent finding in
the case of Cool Ideas 1186 CC v Hubbard and Another 2014 (4)
SA 474 (CC) (Cool Ideas v Hubbard), both property developers
and the construction companies with whom they subcontract, have to
be duly registered as home builders in terms of the Housing
Protection Act, prior to the commencement of construction.
In the case of Cool Ideas v Hubbard, a property
developer entered into a building contract with a housing consumer
and subcontracted the services of a building contractor to
undertake the construction of the housing consumer's home. The
housing consumer took issue with the quality of the work and
refused to make final payment in terms of the agreement.
