Two businesses put a modular home in a backyard. The maker builds it in a factory and sells it, usually under a sale contract at an ex factory price. The installer is the licensed builder on the block: the approvals, the footings, the crane, the connections and the sign-off. Some makers do both, and on this site 78 of the listed makers say they install their own homes. A maker needs no building licence to make and sell a home, because building it in a factory is not building work on your land. Installing it is, so anyone who puts it on the ground for more than $3,300 needs a QBCC licence, or the owner holds an owner builder permit. Home warranty insurance follows the licensed installer, not the maker.
What each one is responsible for
| The maker | The installer | |
|---|---|---|
| Builds | The home, in the factory, to the National Construction Code as a Class 1a dwelling | Nothing of the home. The footings, the services, the deck and stairs |
| Contract | A sale contract for the home, with its own deposit, stages and warranty terms | A building contract for the work on the block, under schedule 1B of the QBCC Act if over $3,300 |
| Licence | None required to manufacture and sell. Many hold one anyway because they also install | A QBCC builder licence whose class covers a class 1 building, or an owner builder permit held by the owner |
| Paperwork | Plans, the frame engineering, often the energy rating, compliance statements for plumbing and electrical | The site reports, the approvals, the inspections, the final certificate |
| Warranty | Its own written warranty on the home | The statutory warranties in the contract, and home warranty insurance on the whole job when a licensed builder signs |
The three ways it gets done
- The maker installs. One contract, one business, one price that should say "installed". Check that the maker, or the entity on the contract, holds the QBCC licence, and that the price covers approvals, footings, crane and connections, not only delivery.
- A licensed builder installs. Two contracts: the home from the maker, the install from the builder. The builder who signs is the builder of record, pays the home warranty premium on the whole job including the factory build, and stands behind the work on the block.
- The owner installs as owner builder. Two contracts and a permit. The maker stands behind the home, the trades stand behind their work, the owner runs the job and carries no home warranty cover. Can I be the owner builder?
The line between them, on the law
Under the QBCC Act a contract only to build a whole home off site is not insurable work. The QBCC's own guide says that when a licensed contractor installs a prefabricated home on the land it becomes insurable: the premium is charged on the factory build, the transport and the install together, and the delivered home is treated as one of the building materials. So the licence and the insurance sit with whoever installs. That is the reason a maker who says "any builder can put it in" is right, and the reason to ask any maker who says "installed" which licensed entity will sign.
What to ask each one
Ask the maker what the price includes, how far they deliver, whether they install and under which licence number, and for the Class 1a paperwork for the exact model. Ask the installer for an itemised price for the site side after a site visit, their licence number as it appears on the QBCC register, and who pays the home warranty premium. The maker profiles on this site show whether each maker installs, in its own words from its own site with the date read, and the builders register lists installers who take any maker's home.
See it for your block
Questions people ask next
Does a modular home maker need a QBCC licence?
Not to build and sell the home in a factory. Installing it on land for more than $3,300 is building work and needs a QBCC licence, so a maker that installs its own homes needs one for that part, and a maker that does not install leaves it to a licensed builder or an owner builder.
Who does the home warranty insurance follow?
The licensed builder who installs. A contract only to build a home off site is not insurable under the QBCC Act, but once a licensed contractor installs it the premium is charged on the factory build, transport and install together and the whole job is covered.
Can I buy the home from one company and have another install it?
Yes. That is the usual arrangement: a sale contract with the maker and a building contract with a licensed installer, or an owner builder permit. The installer prices the site side after a site visit; the maker's price stops at the factory door or the delivery.
- QBCC, when you need a licence ($3,300 threshold), read October 2026
- QBCC, what is the Queensland Home Warranty Scheme, read 16 October 2026
- QBCC, A to Z guide of insurable building work (prefabricated homes installed by a licensed contractor), read October 2026
- Queensland Building and Construction Commission Act 1991, schedule 1B and section 67WB, read October 2026
- Makers that install their own homes, in their own words with the date read, read 16 October 2026