Central Otago leaders say new national building consent reforms will speed up the delivery of new homes in the area, but the rules around liability remain unclear.

The government has proposed scrapping the current approach to liability, replacing it with proportionate liability — which means each party would only be responsible for the share of work they carried out when defective building work was identified.

Announced by the minister for building and construction, Chris Penk, the proposed Building Act 2004 changes were meant to eliminate system blockages in the delivery of new homes and infrastructure. 

Breen Construction managing director Lindsay Breen said while the proposed changes were positive and would speed up the process in the ‘home building’ space, the details about proportionate liability was still not clear.

He said the government’s new self-certification scheme, planned to be introduced in late 2025, would also be a good thing for the industry - if it went ahead.

The proposed scheme was a voluntary initiative through which eligible building companies, plumbers and drainlayers could sign off on their own work on basic builds - without having to wait for a building inspector.

NZ Certified Builders said in the NBR yesterday (Friday August 22) only one fifth of building contracts currently incorporate a build guarantee, and if the new liability rules were not mandated, the government’s objectives would not be met.

Central Otago mayor Tamah Alley also welcomed the building consent changes, and the positive impact they would have on council's ability to reduce costs, consolidate services and speed up the consenting process. 

"For years councils have been criticised for lengthy delays and over-caution when issuing building consents, but the disproportionate risk to ratepayers required this. ‘Cowboy’ companies or faulty products had the potential to cause decades of financial hardship for our people, and that wasn't a fair system,” she said.

Local Government NZ president Sam Broughton said the organisation had been lobbying for change since 2019. 

“Local and central government are strongly aligned on the need to streamline rules and processes to deliver economic growth, and this starts with housing growth.”

He said under the current system, councils were often left ‘holding the bag’ if something went wrong with the finished building. 

This meant ratepayers faced a disproportionate and unfair amount of risk and cost, and this had driven an overly cautious approach to consenting from councils.

“We know that councils play a vital role in housing growth, despite an imperfect system that has often put unnecessary burdens on local government. The changes signalled by the government will effectively ‘unshackle’ councils and allow them to process building consents at pace,” Sam said.

Have a story to share or comment to make? Contact [email protected]