What paperwork a tradesperson should leave you

Most homeowners think of a job as finished when the tradesperson drives away. For licensed work, it is finished when the paperwork arrives, and the gap between those two moments is where a surprising amount of money is later lost.

What you should receive

Why it matters later

• At sale. A buyer's conveyancer can ask for evidence that work was approved and compliant. Missing paperwork can delay a settlement or become a price negotiation.
• At claim time. Insurers examine whether work was done by a licensed person and whether it complied. Unproven work is a common reason a claim gets difficult.
• At dispute time. A certificate establishes what was done and by whom, which is exactly what a tribunal wants and exactly what memory does not supply two years on.
• For the next tradesperson. Someone working on the same system later needs to know what was done and to what standard.

If it never arrives

1. 1Ask in writing, referencing the date of the work and the invoice.
2. 2If there is no response, contact your state's regulator. Issuing certificates is generally a licence condition, so this is a matter they take seriously.
3. 3Keep your own records regardless: the invoice, the licence number, photographs of the work, and any correspondence.

Keep it somewhere findable

A folder with every certificate, permit, invoice and warranty for the property is the single most useful thing a homeowner can maintain, and almost nobody does. It costs nothing, and it turns a stressful pre-settlement week into an afternoon.