Granny Flat Deposit

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jan fardy

Member
2 July 2014
3
0
1
We recently paid a deposit and legal fees etc.on a granny flat at my daughter and son in laws property. They have separated. My daughter moved out and we were asked to leave. Are we entitled to our money back under Property Law? We have receipts for monies paid.
 

Worldly1

Well-Known Member
25 April 2014
137
29
454
Australia
Hi Jan,
Which state or territory are you in?
Did you sign a contract for the granny flat?
 

Worldly1

Well-Known Member
25 April 2014
137
29
454
Australia
Its great that you have the written contract.
Have you asked for you money or broached the subject of dealing with arrangements for the granny flat with your son-in-law and daughter?
Have a look at the Legal Aid NSW page "Moving in with the family? Make sure you protect your interests" which has some great information and includes:
Tip 5 Get legal advice quickly if things do go wrong
It is important to get legal advice as soon as there is any disagreement. If you delay getting advice you may lose the opportunity to take steps to protect your legal interest in the property. Also, the law has time limits for certain types of legal action.

Where to get more information
  • The Older Persons’ Legal Service (a service of The Aged-care Rights Service)
    Provides free legal advice and assistance for older people. Tel: (02) 9281 3600 or 1800 424 079 (toll-free)
  • LawAccess NSW
    Provides free telephone legal information, advice and referrals to other services, including to your nearest Legal Aid NSW office, Community Legal Centres, private lawyers and other organisations that can help.
    Tel: 1300 888 529 (cost of a local call)
    TTY: 1300 889 529
 

Sarah J

Well-Known Member
16 July 2014
1,314
251
2,389
Melbourne, Victoria
Hi Stephen,

As I understand it, Granny Flat Solutions build you a granny flat according to a template and your particular specifications on top of that? They will build this on your land. You will need to purchase the land yourself and gain council approval beforehand.

The website has a great explanation of the process: Design Process

It appears to be a straight forward service (for design and building) contract. As long as there is a written contract, the contract has a detailed plan of what you want, specifications and plan, then you should be right. Make sure you talk about materials with them. As well as what would happen in the event of them making a mistake (e.g. using a wrong material, promising something to fit when it does't, mistakes in installing something) and who would bear the liability. Have all correspondences down in writing.

Is there anything in particular you don't understand about the process?