UNLICENSED builders are using a legal loophole to do jobs priced up to $3300 without any requirement to be qualified or monitored by the peak building association.
The Building Services Authority changed the minimum threshold required for a building licence from $1100 to $3300 last December.
Licensed builders who contacted The Sunday Mail are outraged they are being undercut on a range of jobs by handymen who have no accountability to the BSA or formal trade qualifications.
Homeowners with complaints about dodgy jobs by unlicensed builders costing up to $3300 must now seek compensation through the Small Claims Court.
Licensed builders chasing unpaid bills must also seek payment through the court on any jobs completed for less than $3300.
Unlicensed builders can be prosecuted by the BSA if they do not state in advertisements they can only perform work up to $3300.
Sunshine Coast tiler Matt Williams, from Ocean and Earth Tiling, fears young workers will abandon their apprenticeships because they can make good money doing small jobs without the need for study, trade qualifications or licensing fees.
Mr Williams employs two apprentices and spends thousands of dollars each year on BSA licensing and insurance despite most of his jobs falling under the threshold amount.
"I just don't think it's fair for the mums and dads out there who can easily be ripped off because they have no idea that the person they hired doesn't have to be held accountable to the BSA," he said.
"Most jobs these days are under $3300 because people are doing it tough and this change to the threshold means anyone can just go out tomorrow, pick up some tools and start work.
At $3300 per job you only need to do two a week to make a killing."
Cairns licensed builder Aron Littlemore agrees that the BSA changes will cause headaches for homeowners.
He has been forced to go through the Small Claims Court process to chase up a homeowner who is refusing to pay a $1700 bill for a job he did more than six months ago.
"You have to wonder why I bother getting a BSA licence when they can't help me on jobs below $3300," he said.
A BSA spokesman said its officers had referred about a dozen consumers to take up their complaints with the Small Claims Court since the threshold change.
Jobs under the threshold were regarded as "handyman" jobs and did not require a licence, the spokesman said.
