Most Perth homeowners, when choosing a renovation company, do three things: they get three quotes, they ask for references from recent clients, and they check Google reviews. These are reasonable starting points. They are not sufficient.
The questions that most reliably predict how a renovation will go are different. They’re about process rather than portfolio. They’re about what happens when something goes wrong, not just when everything goes right. They’re about the company’s approach to the specific challenges of a Perth renovation — older housing stock, tight trade markets, supply chain complexity — rather than just their photos of finished bathrooms.
This article covers the questions that reveal how a renovation company actually operates, and what the answers should tell you.
Work Type | Required Licence/Registration | How to Verify |
Residential building work over $20,000 | Building Services (Registration) Act 2011 — Builder's Registration | Building Commission of WA — online register. Search by name or registration number. |
Plumbing and drainage work | Plumbers Licensing Board of WA — Plumber's Licence | Plumbers Licensing Board of WA — online register. |
Electrical work | EnergySafety WA — Electrical Contractor's Licence | EnergySafety WA — online register. |
Gas fitting work | EnergySafety WA — Gas Work Licence | EnergySafety WA — online register. |
Asbestos removal over 10m² | WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety — Class A Asbestos Removal Licence | DEMIRS online register. |
The answer tells you whether the company has a methodology or whether they’re winging it. A strong answer includes: a pre-renovation visual assessment, a discussion of likely hidden issues at the consultation stage, a process for how discoveries are managed (inspection before removal, written agreement on cost before proceeding, licensed removalist engaged if required). A weak answer: “we’ll let you know if we find anything.”
If the company doesn’t understand the question, that tells you something. A strong answer explains that their quote is fixed-scope — the price you sign is the price you pay, with variations only from client-requested scope changes — and describes the specific process for handling discoveries that result in additional work.
Renovation project management — the scheduling, sequencing, and coordination of multiple licensed trades across a project — is either done by a dedicated project manager or it isn’t. A company that manages the coordination properly will have a specific answer: a named person, a project management process, and a communication protocol with the client. A company that says “all the trades coordinate with each other” is describing a renovation managed by nobody.
Ask for the standard contract before you’re being asked to sign it. The format and content of the contract is more revealing than any conversation. Key things to look for: the scope of works section, the variations clause, the payment schedule, and the defects and completion process. If the company is reluctant to share the contract before you’re ready to sign, that’s not a normal business practice.
Practical completion — the point at which the renovation is handed over to the client — should be defined in the contract. Ask specifically: what is the defects liability period? (In WA, the implied statutory warranty for residential building work is 7 years for structural defects and 2 years for non-structural.) How are defects reported and remediated? What is the process if you identify something after practical completion?
3D design is now standard practice in quality Perth renovation companies. But “3D design included” can mean anything from a basic SketchUp model produced by the sales team to a full architectural-quality render showing every tile, fitting, and finish. Ask specifically: what software, what level of detail, how many revision rounds are included, and what triggers an additional charge. The answer tells you whether the design process is a genuine tool for client decision-making or a sales brochure.
We include this section because the article asks what to look for in a renovation company — and it
would be intellectually dishonest to write that article without describing how we approach the same
questions ourselves.
House & Co manages every room under one agreement. Browse our other services below — all
spokes connect back to the same team, the same process, and the same fixed-scope quote.
Free in-home consultation. Fixed-scope quote. No obligation