EXCLUSIVE: Here’s why The Block teams have been allowed to continue working on their houses after the cameras stopped rolling.

The Block teams were told they must rectify a list of defects in their house before Sunday night’s reveal. Photos: Channel 9

It’s the final week on The Block, and while the finish line is well and truly in sight, the contestants still have plenty of work to do. In addition to their front facade, Foreman Dan Reilly has given each team a list of defects in their house that they must rectify by Sunday night’s reveal.

These include fixing paint jobs, plastering the hallways, or completing unfinished rooms to ensure their house is ready for auction. Dan made it clear that they had to tick everything off the list before filming wrapped; however, it turns out this isn’t entirely true.

Sonny and Alicia revealed to Yahoo Lifestyle last month that they were actually heading back to Daylesford to complete some tasks around the house.

“We’re just going to go through it, touch up a bit of paint here and there,” Alicia detailed.

“There will be a few of us down there, actually. Han and Can are there, Em and Ben will be there, and Britt and Taz will be there too.”

The Queensland couple went on to share that, although they still had to do some odd jobs, they were the only team that had finished their entire house when cameras stopped rolling in June.

“We walked out of The Block, and we were the only house with the whole house finished because I spent my money, whereas there are other houses that didn’t [finish],” Sonny remarked.

“That was my priority as a tradesman that I didn’t want to leave my house unfinished; my hallways were done, everything was painted, and the whole house was finished.”

Sonny and Alicia reveal they were the only team that had finished their entire house when cameras stopped rolling in June. Photo: Channel 9

What are teams allowed to do before the auction?

Former contestants Steph and Gian Ottavio, who won a record-breaking $1.75 million on the reality show in 2023, explained to Yahoo Lifestyle that teams aren’t allowed to make any major changes to their houses after the show is filmed.

However, they can touch up the paint or fix any defects at this time is known as the defects rectification period.

“In that time period between filming ending and the auction happening, it’s the builders’ responsibility as a contractor to make sure that everything is built to correct standards, and if something needs to be rectified, that’s when that sort of time happens,” Steph said.

“But from our perspective, we didn’t do anything apart from if there was a touch-up or something that needed to be done from a paint perspective, but that’s a normal defect rectification period.”

‘Enhanced the credibility’

This comes after Domain’s National Property Editor, Alice Stolz, told Yahoo Lifestyle that she believes a big reason why Steph and Gian achieved so much success on The Block is that they lived in their property during the three-month campaign period.

“Every time anyone came through the house, they would clean it themselves, Steph would style it herself, they would be available to talk about the house to people, and I think that just enhanced the credibility and the quality of the work that they did,” she shared.

This season’s auctions will take place on Saturday, October 25, and air the following night on Channel 9, with the winning team taking home $100,000 on top of their profit from their sale.