ACT welcomes game-changing building consent reforms

ACT Housing, Building and Construction spokesman and Licensed Building Practitioner Cameron Luxton is celebrating moves to end joint and several liability and to allow for mergers of Building Consent Authorities.

“Tradies have been railing for years against cost and delays caused by badly incentivised councils. The joint and several liability system leaves councils and ratepayers on the hook for other people's defective work. Under these conditions, it's a miracle when a council signs off on anything.

“ACT has campaigned to fix this madness, and now we're getting there. Moving to proportionate liability, where each party is responsible for their own work, will cut the risk-averse red tape that turns small projects into headaches.

"Of course, this leaves the question of what local councils will actually be left liable for, and how far the councils' liabilities will extend in practice if they remain liable for inspections. I look forward to seeing how the legislation handles this.

"ACT also welcomes moves to allow mergers of Building Consent Authorities. We've repeatedly highlighted the madness of having 66 different BCAs, each with their own interpretation of the Building Code, meaning a builder’s paperwork can be rejected in one district but accepted in the next.

"Some councils have maintained positive relationships with builders while others have struggled to keep up, and home builders have had issues with poorly skilled council staff assessing consents. Consolidation will allow poorly performing councils to adopt best practice from their neighbours, and pooling resources will help to ensure a more consistent level of professionalism in processing consents.

“Whether you’re building, buying, or renovating, these reforms are good news. Both owners and buyers have a stake in clearing the consenting quagmire. If we want a property-owning democracy, we need a system that’s faster, fairer, and less costly. These changes move us closer to that vision, and ACT is proud to see our advocacy reflected in this overhaul.

“With ACT in Government, we're tackling big challenges with positive sum thinking. It would be easy to say the solution to expensive housing is to finger-point and to whack homeowners and investers with new taxes. Instead, we're getting bureaucracy out of the way so Kiwis can build more homes and create the conditions for prosperity.”