A: As the name implies, a non-compliance notice is a notice that will give notice of any non-compliance issues. In the case of plumbing, it is a requirement that a plumber undertaking plumbing works, is required as part of the work to notify the homeowner (consumer) of any issues of plumbing non-compliance. This notification must be done in writing.

Q: The purpose of the non-compliance notice is twofold: firstly, so as to protect the consumer of any and or potential dangers and performance issue that are or may arise from the existing installation, and secondly, so as to protect the you the plumber in terms of any future liability of the homeowner of any pre-existing items of non-compliance. It is therefore critical that the licensed plumber is aware of the standards to notify accordingly. Notification of non-compliance is a requirement of both the Consumer Protection Act and the mandatory standards.

A: All items of the plumbing works that do not comply with the plumbing installation must be written on the non-compliance notice. Further to this, the notice must be clear and understandable and detailed in such a way that the consumer is made aware of the risks about the items that are non-compliant.

A: The homeowner is responsible. Your responsibility as a professional plumber is to draw attention to the pre-existing non-compliance and the risk associated with it.

A: First and foremost, all notifications of non-compliance are a requirement of the Consumer Protection Act. Not issuing the notice means you are falling foul of the regulations and further you will be issued with a rectification notice by the PIRB. Secondly, in the case of any future liability, you may be held jointly and severally liable for claims resulting from the installation.

A: Your duty as a professional plumber is to notify the homeowner of non-compliance. It is the responsibility of the homeowner to rectify the non-compliance. If the homeowner wishes for you to quote on the rectifying of the non-compliance and make use of your services, you are free to do so. You are not precluded from doing this in any way. We do however caution you that the notification and quoting should be done before any work been undertaken as this will most likely lead to a dispute if done after.

A: In the case of newly built installation undertaken by yourself, there should never be any non-compliance, and therefore no non-compliance notice should have to be issued. In the case where you are working on a pre-existing installation, the actual work undertaken by yourself must be complaint and as part of meeting that compliance requirement, you must notify the homeowner in writing of any non-compliance.