Plans for a new opt-in self-certification scheme for trusted building professionals and accredited businesses have been unveiled.
The Government is proposing further significant action to reform the building and construction sector to support more affordable homes and a stronger economy, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says.
“If we want to grow the economy, lift incomes, create jobs and build more affordable, quality homes we need a construction sector that is firing on all cylinders," Penk says.
“That is why the next action in our reforms of the sector is to construct a new self-certification scheme for trusted building professionals and accredited businesses carrying out low risk building work.
"The building consent system is intended to protect homeowners from defective building work by requiring work to be inspected and consented by a Building Consent Authority. But the regime is inefficient and adds cost and time to the build process, which makes it harder for Kiwis to realise their dream of homeownership.
On October 29, Penk announced plans to develop a new opt-in self-certification scheme for trusted building professionals and accredited businesses. The scheme, which will go through a robust consultation process, features two key pillars.
“The first is that qualified building professionals, such as plumbers, drainlayers, and builders, will be able to self-certify their own work, for low-risk builds, without the need for an inspection. This brings them in line with electricians and gasfitters who can already do this and is something the industry has been calling for, for years.
“The second pillar is that businesses with a proven track record – for example, group homebuilders who build hundreds of near-identical homes a year – will be able to go through a more streamlined consent process.
“At the moment, a single-story basic home might go through 10 or more separate inspections. This is clearly too many and the cost-benefit has become unbalanced.
“Building professionals are already subject to quality assurances such as requirements to be registered and hold a practicing license; keep records of their work; and have their details held in a publicly searchable database. However, as part of the scheme’s design, there will be additional safeguards including:
-
a clear pathway that customers can access to remedy poor work,
-
strengthened qualification requirements for building professionals, and
-
strict disciplinary actions for careless or incompetent self-certifiers
“The self-certification scheme will be restricted to low-risk, basic residential dwellings. We know from international evidence that most defective building work happens in complex large developments – we want inspectors to focus their resources on this kind of work.
“Under the current consent settings, councils and their ratepayers are liable for all defective work. This naturally creates a highly conservative approach to consenting, which further slows the process. A model where building practitioners shoulder more of the risk should incentivise better quality work and lower the liability risk for ratepayers.
“We will make detailed policy decisions in the new year following thorough consultation, which will consider what residual role existing Building Consent Authorities should have in the self-certification scheme, for example through an auditing function.
“Kiwis need confidence in the safety and quality of their homes, but it’s possible to do this through a more streamlined assurance pathway. We are committed to cutting through the tangle of red tape so that we can get more Kiwis into the quality homes they deserve.”
