How Long to Keep Documents

The warm fuzzies induced by the 10 year longstop on liability under the Building Act have been under threat from cases brought to Court. So far, so good. But it would be unwise to biff out everything related to a project as soon as the longstop is reached.

Although it has long been the case that joinder of third parties under WHRS cases can stretch that 10 years, there is a possibility of some legal drift towards that situation being extended more generally. If faced with a claim, defence may be dependent on the documents you hold. Consistent with our past articles on this issue, and more particularly for residential observation records, Communique suggests a 12 year holding period is prudent.