NHBRC & building standards
Stile di Vita Projects & Civils is an NHBRC-registered home builder. This page explains what builder registration, home enrolment, inspections and warranty mean, so you know what to ask for on any project, with us or anyone else.
To check a registration, ask the builder for the current certificate and confirm it with the NHBRC on 0800 200 824 (toll-free). We are glad to show our current certificate on request.
Home builders must be registered with the National Home Builders Registration Council (NHBRC) to build homes in South Africa. Registration is renewed every year.
Registration shows that the builder is on the NHBRC register. It does not, on its own, certify the quality of any particular building.
Enrolment is separate from registration. It is the home that is enrolled, and the builder, not the homeowner, enrols it with the NHBRC before construction starts. The NHBRC states that a home that is not enrolled has no warranty cover.
Ask your builder to confirm that your home has been enrolled, and note that an enrolment fee applies.
Enrolment allows the NHBRC to inspect the home at key stages of construction. If an inspector finds work that deviates from the NHBRC Home Building Manual, the builder is notified and given reasonable time to put it right.
The NHBRC sets out three periods, counted from when the first occupant moves in, and every defect must be reported to the builder in writing: 3 months for deviations from the agreement, plans or specifications and for defects in design, workmanship or materials; 1 year for roof leaks; 5 years for major structural defects.
If a builder cannot or will not fix a reported defect, the NHBRC can step in after the complaint and conciliation process. The limits and conditions of the warranty are set by the NHBRC, so please read its published terms.
Building work needs plans approved by the local authority under the National Building Regulations and Building Standards Act. SANS 10400 is the code of practice for applying those regulations and applies to the building elements it covers.
We build to the approved drawings and specification. The architect and engineer remain responsible for their own design work.
Some of our work, such as civil works, specialist seamless finishes and waterproofing on existing buildings, is not the construction of a new home. NHBRC enrolment applies to new homes, and what applies to your project depends on its scope. We will tell you at quotation stage.
Summarised from the NHBRC's published consumer information. This is general information, not legal advice. The Housing Consumers Protection Measures Act and the NHBRC's own terms are the authority.