The NSW government made some important amendments to the Home Builders Act last week, reducing the time that both builders and home owners have to claim defective work.

The warranty period has been reduced from seven years to two years for non-structural defects - such as painting and tiling - and six years for more serious issues.

"There's clearly been pressure and representations from developers and builders to the O'Farrell government to reduce their exposure to these kinds of claims," Greens MP David Shoebridge said.

A spokesman for Fair Trading Minister Anthony Roberts told the ABC that the changes were made in order to bring the statutory warranty scheme into line with home warranty insurance cover.

According to NSW Fair Trading, home building complaints are the second-most common complaint, behind household electrical appliances and white goods.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported an increase in applications for new homes made to NSW Fair Trading. This growth in activity has seen building licences rise from to 12,696 in 2006-07 to 14,641 in 2009-10.

The bill also looked to raise the threshold for the requirements for written home building contracts from $1,000 to $5,000, however this clause did not make it through the Lower House.