A Beginner’s
Guide
to
Building Law
Compliance Made Easy
Rosemary Killip
The Beginner’s
Guide to Building
Law
Compliance Made Easy
Rosemary Killip
Copyright © 2014 Rosemary Killip. All rights reserved.
The author asserts their moral rights in the work.
This book is copyright. Except for the purposes of fair reviewing, no part of this
publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Infringers of copyright render themselves liable to prosecution.
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure this book is as accurate and complete as possible, however there may be mistakes both typographical and in content.
The authors and publishers shall not be held liable or responsible to any person
or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to have been caused
directly or indirectly by the information contained in this book.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the National Library of New
Zealand
First published 2014
The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Contents
Acknowledgements
6
Abbreviations
7
Use of this Book
8
Chapter 1 Rules of the game
9
1.
Introduction to the rules 9
2.
How the rules work
10
3.
A performance based Building Code
11
4.
Alternative Solutions
12
5. Restricted building work and licensing in the building industry
13
Chapter 2 New Building Projects
15
1.
Work that does not need consent
15
2.
Finding out information that affects your project
17
3.
Getting a Building Consent
19
4.
The importance of a Code of Compliance Certificate
22
5.
Public Use Certificates
24
Chapter 3 Existing Buildings
25
1.
Compulsory maintenance
25
2.
Alterations to existing buildings
28
3.
Changing the use of a building
29
4.
What to do if you find illegal building work
30
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Chapter 4 The People of Building Control
32
1.
Dealing with Councils
32
2.
Getting the right information from Council:
34
3.
The Building Inspector is your friend
37
4.
DIY Owners - Builders
39
5.
The secrets of the building industry
40
Glossary of Building Law Terms
44
About The Author:
48
Notes: 49
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Acknowledgements
Thank you for picking up this book. I want to acknowledge you,
the reader, for realising there was a gap in your knowledge that needs
to be filled.
I would like to thank all the building inspectors, and building
industry people I have encountered in the past 20 years who have
taught me so much about building controls (from both sides of the
counter). And importantly what not to do and what we should be
aiming for.
I also thank the seven or so Ministers of Building issues and the
MBIE staff who, although we may have had some heated debate at
times, have prompted me to think quite carefully about what the rules
are, what they should be and why we need them.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Abbreviations
Throughout this book (and in the property information councils
hold) you will find the following abbreviations for building law terms
used. Here is a selection of the most common ones. Detail concerning
these terms is provided in the following chapters of this book.
12A
Certificate of Compliance with Inspection, Maintenance and Reporting Procedures.
BAct04 Building Act 2004
BC
Building Consent
BCA
Building Consent Authority
BWOF Building Warrant of Fitness
CCC Code Compliance Certificate
COA Certificate of Acceptance
CPU
Certificate of Public Use
CS
Compliance Schedule
CSS
Compliance Schedule Statement
IQP Independent Qualified Person (e.g. fire alarm tester, lift certifier)
LBP
Licensed Building Practitioner
LIM
Land Information Memorandum
MBIE Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (Building
and Housing Group)
NTF
Notice to Fix
NZBC New Zealand Building Code or Building Code or Code
PIM
Project Information Memorandum
TA
Territorial Authority (Council)
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Use of this Book
The building industry is full of jargon and abbreviations.
It might even seem like a foreign language at times. The
first time, each of the terms used here will be written in
full and then after that time it will usually be abbreviated.
Terms will be introduced in fact-specific scenarios. Terms
will be expanded as each scenario unfolds and there is also
a glossary at the back of the book in case you need it at
any time. This guide is not a substitute for the law and
you are encouraged to get your own copy of the building
act. There are many other issues you have to face with a
building project such as resource consents and approvals for
other items like liquor health licences. This book does not
cover those specific topics.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Chapter 1 Rules of the game
1.
Introduction to the rules
Joe, an ex-builder has landed a job as a Property Manager.
He has solid building knowledge, but no legal background.
Now that he is in the important role of being a property
manager he needs to upskill himself quick smart. He has
heard that the rules are quite complex. He buys a copy of
the Building Act, and once he sees it is 451 sections long he
decides it is good bedtime reading. That night he jumps into
bed and opens page 1, by page 2 he is sound asleep.
Well, even though I like ‘the law’, it is hard going reading it,
particularly if you are a practical guy like Joe, and especially last thing
at night. People in the building industry, like Joe was, rely on building
inspectors to tell them what they can and cannot do, and grizzle about
the things they have to change. Joe has done the right thing buying a
copy of the Building Act but he needs a translator. This book has been
written to give people like Joe a helping hand.
Julie studied a little bit of the Building Act during her
training in property management and has attended a
few professional development courses in the subject. She is
pretty familiar with building consents, but the rest is a bit
of a mystery. Julie has a passionate view that some of the
Building Act rules are over the top and she often argues
with the council about the level of detail required in plans
and specifications. She has had a couple of very heated
discussions with council officers and sometimes gets confused
between the Resource Management Act and the Building
Act requirements.
Although Julie is well schooled in some aspects of the Building Act
there are other things that she will learn in this book that will be
really helpful to her in her role as a property manager. While she is
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
entitled to her view she will need to work with the council officers and
understand what is required so she can best serve her clients. This will
result in less time delays, less argy bargy, and hopefully speed up the
building projects.
2.
How the rules work
When Joe was a builder he used the NZ Standard 3604
for a lot of his building work. He relied on engineers for
specific designs and subcontractors to get on with their
installations. He has heard about the NZ Building Code
but is not sure how the Standards and the Building Code
fit together.
Here is a simple pictorial representation of how the Rules
work.
The Building Act is a set of rules that govern what you can and
Building Act 2004
Building Regulations
Mandatory
Non-Mandatory
NZ Building Code
Compliance documents - optional
ways to comply
Acceptable Verification
Solutions Methods
10
The Law
The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
cannot build in New Zealand. It is administered by the MBIE, who
in turn report to the Minister of Building & Housing. It also covers a
range of other administrative and legislative things that councils must
do in relation to ensuring compliance ‘at a grass roots level’.
The Ministry is a good place to go for
verification of advice given by council or if
you are in dispute with council.
3.
A performance based Building Code
The Building Code is what is called a ‘performance-based’ building
code. That means it is a set of high level objectives that buildings must
achieve. For example, the Building Code requires buildings to be
strong enough to withstand earthquakes, keep water out, keep people
warm, and provide barriers so prevent falling. There are many more
provisions of the Code (in fact, 35 technical sections).
If you want a copy of the Building Code you can download it
from www.mbie.govt.nz (search for ‘Building Code’.)
The building consent process centres on whether plans and
specifications meet the Building Code requirements or not. To help
the industry sort out whether their proposed work meets the Building
Code or not, the MBIE produces a series of documents called
’Compliance Documents’. Within these documents there is either a
list of New Zealand, British, Australian or other standards that already
comply with the Building Code. Or there are written design solutions
that detail how something is put together to comply with the Code.
For example, in New Zealand we have a predominance of light timber
frame construction in residential homes. There is a commonly used
standard that has been in place for some thirty years, called New
Zealand Standard NZS3604. A lot of builders are apprenticed on that
11
The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Standard and use it in their daily practice; if fully complied with, it
will meet the Building Code requirements.
PS: If you want a copy of the Compliance Documents you can
download it from www.mbie.govt.nz (look up the words ‘Compliance
Documents’). You can then download them one-by-one, or you can follow
the instructions on how to purchase hard copies.
A copy of each building code clause is in the front of each
Compliance Document.
All of these principles are very sensible and good in theory. In
practice, people from the building industry tend to have specific
projects that need completing, and need to find particular design
solutions that will comply with the key principles of the Code. It is
common for architects to want to step outside the boundaries of the
rules, and that can the job of assessing whether a project is going to
comply with the Building Code or not somewhat difficult. But not
impossible.
4.
Alternative Solutions
One of Julie’s clients has travelled extensively overseas,
and is keen on an eco-friendly office building of the highest
specification. The client has a top notch architect involved
who is sourcing design information from overseas. The
specialist systems in the building will be imported and are
cutting-edge in terms of energy efficiency. The client has
asked Julie to wade her way through the red tape of the
building consent process and liaise with the architect.
Most people think of this type of leading-edge building when
referring to ‘Alternative Solutions’, which they are, but so are many
other building types. Obviously as a building becomes more complex,
more alternative solutions are needed, and more verification has to be
done to ensure that the project meets the Building Code.
What may not be so obvious is that many everyday buildings are also
deemed to be alternative solutions – for example, many foundations
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
or large beams require special engineering or verification. You can
have a standard timber framed house on top and special foundations
underneath supporting it – it is common to see a standard NZS3604
house built on specifically designed foundations in sand dune or peat
soil areas.
In addition to what the client wants, the designer has to justify to
the Council how designs, materials and systems from overseas meet
the NZ Building Code requirements.
Look, the details can get fairly complex – necessarily. So, the handy
hint when dealing with the jigsaw of the Building Act, Building Code
and Compliance Documents is to ask any designers, architects, and
other industry people you may contract, what they know about these
rules. Have they got a copy of any of the documents, what’s their
opinion of them, do they pick any solutions from the Compliance
Documents or do they deal with a lot of alternative solutions? If they
don’t know what you are talking about when you ask these questions,
and just go “Huh?” Walk away quickly and finds someone who
understands the compliance issues - don’t play with someone who
doesn’t know the rules; they are only going to get you into trouble.
5.
Restricted building work and licensing in
the building industry
Jo has bought a section and wants a build house, her
neighbour Prashant wants a new roof for his house. Both
are restricted work now and require a licensed designer and
a licensed tradesperson to do or supervise the work.
Colin wants a brand new ensuite for his rental property.
Just like before he has to use a qualified plumber.
Craig wants a skylight installed and a new wood burner.
Neither of these trades are licensed. so he can install it
himself or get an experienced person who sells and installs
these products to do it for home.
Some building work is risky and should be done by licensed
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
tradesmen. Some design work is also tricky and therefore it should
be done by licensed designers. In the trades this has been true for
plumbers, drainers, gasfitters and electricians for decades. In March
2012 this was extended to the residential space (both dwellings and
residential apartments up to 10m in height) with the following work
restricted to a licensed persons hands:
The design, construction and alteration of the
•
primary structure
•
cladding (external walls, and roofs)
and the design of fire safety systems for small-medium apartment
buildings.
What does this mean?
It means that a licensed person has to do or supervise the work.
(also see the DIY Owner exemption section of this book).
The licensed areas cover:
1.Design
2.Carpentry
3.Roofing
4.
External Plastering
5.
Bricklaying and Blocklaying
6.
Foundations (for relocatables only)
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Chapter 2 New Building
Projects
1.
Work that does not need consent
Joe and the Deck
The staff of one of the buildings Joe looks after wants
him to build a ground-level deck that they can use for their
lunch breaks. Joe puts his builder’s apron back on, grabs
some supplies from the trade store and gets cracking. He
is confident he can go ahead without needing to tell the
council.
Joe is correct; this deck does not require a building consent, but
must still meet the requirements of the Building Code. That means it
is to be made using the right sort of timber and fixings for its location,
and put together in a safe and secure way.
Julie and the Alterations
One of the tenants in Julie’s portfolio wants to do some
internal office alterations. The tenant wants to create a
new reception, a meeting room and a staff area. The tenant
goes ahead and does this without Julie’s or the landlord’s
permission and without a building consent.
This is not good practice.
• Firstly, the lease agreement should have spelt out that the
tenant needs to get prior permission from the landlord or their
representative (i.e. Julie) to alter the building in any way.
• Secondly, this type of work needs a Building Consent.
I wonder how many property managers do regular inspections
of their building portfolio to see what is going on and how many
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
actively police their lease agreements? In my experience it’s only when
a problem occurs that you find out what the tenant has been up to...
and it’s a bit late by then!
Julie and her client will be drawn into this situation. To remedy
the illegal building work the Council will require a number of steps
to be taken and some money to be paid. Julie will have to explain to
her client (the building owner) how this was allowed to happen under
her watch.
It is good practice to get the tenant used to asking your permission
and advising you of what they are doing. A simple email will generally
do the trick. That way you have no surprises and know what is actually
going on in the buildings you look after. It can be quite embarrassing
if a council starts writing to the building owner (who after all a client)
saying something is wrong. I would imagine in this case there would
be some heated damage control conversations between Julie, the
tenant and Julie’s client. To save everyone time and grief, Julie just
needs to establish clear boundaries with the tenant to make sure they
understand the approval process.
There are some common alterations to commercial buildings that
do not require a Building Consent:
• repairing or replacing small items like a broken window or a
toilet that’s not working.
• building small items with low or no risk (such as a ground-level
deck) or small office partitions.
Be warned! Just because building work does
not need a building consent - it may need
a resource consent or have constraints on
location, height etc. imposed by the District
Plan. Check out your Councils local District
Plan or seek planning advice.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Here are the possibilities with building projects.
Building
Consent
Yes
Resource
Consent
Yes
Yes
No
No
No
Yes
No
Action
Building controls and planning
advice needed
Building controls advice needed
Planning advice needed
Good to go!
For an up to date list of the types of work that do not
require a Building Consent plus a guidance book, visit:
www.buildingnetworks.co.nz
It’s always best to have a chat with the council before doing any
building work, or at least surf their websites to see what guidance
information and forms are available. Even if you haven’t got a project
in mind just yet it pays to get your head around their interpretation of
the rules so you can better inform your tenants and clients. Too often
the council is the last organisation people go to, only to find out too
late (once work has started) that they need consent. It’s a bit late then
because you can’t get a Consent retrospectively.
2.
Finding out information that affects your
project
Joe and the PIM
Joe wants to apply for a Building Consent to extend a
building by adding additional rooms and refurbishing the
staff toilet facilities. While he could do the work himself he
doesn’t have time for a job like this. He realises he needs
drawings so goes to a designer recommended by a friend
who draws up a set of plans and specifications to meet the
requirements. After paying the designer he trots off the
council with the plans and applies for the Consent.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
All is well with the design, and in a few days the council
advises that the Building Consent is ready to be collected, but
there is a catch. While the council has granted a Consent, the
Project Information Memorandum (PIM) has shown that
the building is classified under the Historic Places Trusts
Act. While the council is happy with the building work as
proposed, Joe cannot get contractors to start building until
he has consulted with the Historic Places Trust to negotiate
what work can or cannot be done to the building. This has
put the whole project back some weeks if not months.
The purpose of a PIM is to tell the applicant all that the council
knows about that project on that piece of land, and any other rules
or regulations that may apply to the project. For example, if you have
overhead power lines or the property is in a flight path you will be
told the range of other agencies you also need to consult with. The
Historic Places Trust has the power to refuse or allow work to proceed
for classified buildings so as to preserve historic value.
If Joe or the designer had got the PIM first they would have avoided
all of this stress and time delay. To be fair, the designer may have
only been briefed to draw up the alterations. The designer could have
presumed that Joe had other permissions sorted out. Its not always
obvious which buildings have historical places classification, unless
you research it.
You can apply for a PIM and Building Consent together, and it
may speed up the process, but it can also just as easily lead to more
work and cost in the long run. It should be obtained before detailed
drawing begins, not after.
If you go to the council with a sketch plan and some basic
information then you may find out ahead of time that there are extra
design considerations you have not thought about or budgeted for.
If your designer is from out of town he or she might not realise the
specific district planning requirements involved in your local council
area. The district plan may require specific foundation design or extra
design requirements to cater for strong winds, snow loads, or different
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
types of ground conditions. All of this requires additional design time
and cost. It is easier to have this design information upfront.
Julie and the PIM
Julie’s client decides to build a new commercial building.
She has budgeted for all known costs and planned
occupation times, found a perfect site, bought it and had
sketches drawn up. She applies for a PIM from the council.
It says that the building (when finished) is subject to the
Fire Safety Evacuation of Buildings Regulations 2006
which means the building will need a formally approved
evacuation scheme. She now factors in the immediate and
ongoing costs of an evacuation scheme, trial evacuations
and other training for onsite staff.
This is an example of good pre-planning and research of factors
other than just building consent.
There are two key agencies that you will find out about on a PIM.
One is the Historic Places Trust, as discussed in Joe’s example. The
other is the New Zealand Fire Service, regarding the Fire Safety
and Evacuation of Buildings Regulations, as discussed in the above
example. You will also find out any other related agencies that you
may need to consult with, e.g. telecommunications, water supply,
waste water supply, and civil aviation if you are in zones where these
things are important. This can help in the planning and feasibility
phase of a building project.
3.
Getting a Building Consent
Julie and the building consent
Julie’s client agrees to proceed with the design of the new
commercial building and Julie goes to an architect who has
been recommended by a business associate. She is pleased with
the preliminary work and engages the architect to look after
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
the whole process, including dealing with the council’s rules.
This is an option for busy property managers who may prefer to get
someone else to deal with the design detail and the council red tape.
While that is certainly an option, it is always worth being aware that
Julie is still responsible for compliance of the project – a mistake by
the architect is still her responsibility.
Julie would be wise to keep a good tab on the consent process. Even
though she is not a design professional herself she does understand
paperwork and processes. It important to select a designer who
communicates well with council, there are often technical matters
which need to be negotiated. If there are any design mistakes or areas
of non-compliance in the plans the council will start a laborious
process of letter writing. These letters are known as ‘RFIs’ or Request
for Further Information.
RFI letters are written from the council to the key contact person
for the consent, so it gives the designer a second (sometimes third or
fourth) chance at getting the drawings right. If the contact person
is also the designer you (the property manager) may never know
there has been multiple attempts to get the drawings right. This
is an expensive and time consuming process and ultimately the
building owner will pay. Meanwhile, you may have already paid for
a complete design (to consent stage) and because of the RFI you
may be asked to pay more for the redesigns.
The excuse often given is that ‘the council has been picky and
asked for more information’. One of the key performance indicators
you could put to the designer is to tell you how many RFIs they
receive and what for – remember, they ought to be factoring in these
design elements at the beginning of the process if they have done
their research thoroughly. Or, you could be the key contact person
and the council will communicate directly with you. You can easily
arrange for the council to give you copies of all correspondence
and information so that you are kept in the loop of the building
consent process. You can then keep your designer honest about
what the council is actually saying about the quality of the original
20
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consent application design. Ultimately you can plan for delays and
additional costs.
Decide who will be the key contact person for the building consent
application - will it be you, the property manager, the owner, or the
tenant/lessee, or an agent such as an architect or builder? In any case,
keep a close eye on all the checks and balances on what is happening.
After all, your client is ultimately responsible the eye of the law for
what is happening in your building, and they pay you to get things
right on their behalf.
If you are going to be the key contact person, either visit your council
directly or go to their website and download forms and checklists for
building consents for the type of job that you are doing.
• Fill in the forms completely and attach all the information that
they ask for.
• Do a self-check on the checklist provided as that will be done
at the counter as well.
• Make sure you get good design advice. Ask your design
professional what their relationship is like with the council. The
minute they rant and rave about the council – drop them! You
want someone who gets on well with the council and can wade
their way through the rules for you.
• If it is a complex matter with a lot of different regulations
and rules involved, ask for a pre-lodgement meeting with the
council. More efficiency is gained by knowing upfront what the
council is expecting in the way of documentation.
• Get involved and keep in touch with the process. You could
end up with a debt on the property or unfinished works.
Furthermore, you could end up with formal notices from the
council called Notices to Fix which are lodged against the
property and are openly available if you decide to sell at a later
date.
• You will need some owner information for the building consent.
For example, you will require the Certificate of Title which
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
proves the ownership, plus many councils require proof of
authorisation from the landlord for you to act on their behalf. A
quick email will do that. The Certificate of Title can be quickly
downloaded from Quotable Value (www.qv.co.nz), or Land
Information New Zealand (www.linz.govt.nz). Importantly,
some councils require a Certificate of Title no older than three
months. This is typical in subdivision areas, but some require
this as a universal rule.
• Ensure the building work is fully completed, and visit the site
during construction
• For jobs outside your scope you may need a project manager to
look after the coordination of all the trades and the paperwork
for you.
• Make sure the Code Compliance Certificate (CCC) is applied
for and obtained, and that all certificates relevant have been
given to the council. (You can apply for it yourself as the key
contact person).
• Check if there are any other issues you need to deal with at
the council (e.g. Resource Consents, Certificates of Public Use,
and any other appropriate licenses, such as liquor and health
licences, etc.)
4.
The importance of a Code of Compliance
Certificate
Julie’s Job Ends
Now that the Building Consent is obtained the architect is
thanked and sent on his way, and Julie takes over managing
the project. Many months go by and the contractors she
employed to do the building work have nearly finished.
Julie is so busy that she has not been to the site for a while.
The Council has sent a reminder letter to the architect that
it is nearly time to apply for a Code Compliance Certificate.
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Someone forgets to pass this onto Julie, and the Council
thinks the architect is the agent for the project, whereas it is
actually Julie. The Council has no record of Julie’s name as
it did not appear anywhere on the consent documentation.
A Building Consent is a process finished off with a Code Compliance
Certificate. Logic says (unless the Council is told otherwise) that
they will contact the person who applied for the Consent to finish
it. If this changes in the meantime (like it did when Julie took back
control of the project) then she needs to tell the Council that all
future correspondence comes to her. The architect in this job was
only engaged to do the design work and so quite rightly has no
responsibility to get the CCC.
Throughout the 1990s and through to about March 2005 you could
get something called an ‘Interim Code Compliance Certificate’. This
allowed building work to be partially signed off. It was a common
thing for commercial buildings which were finished in stages or
levels. You should watch out for the words Interim Code Compliance
Certificate in council files, or Land Information Memorandums, with
no corresponding CCC. This means the building still has no final
signoff.
The longer you wait to apply for a CCC after building work has
been done the harder it can be to get one. Some people wait for years,
or in some cases a new owner applies for a CCC some years down the
track, long after the builder is gone. They are then shocked to find
that the Council may refuse to give them one because the building
work is so old.
These days most councils like applicants to apply for a CCC within
2 years from the date they were given building consent. They will
probably contact you near that time to remind you of your obligation
to apply. If the work isn’t finished at that point you can ask for an
extension. All of this information is probably given to you in an
information pack when you applied for consent. Hold onto that pack
in your office and read all the material thoroughly. Schedule the dates
for significant events (like applying for the CCC).
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5.
Public Use Certificates
Opening Day
One of Julie’s clients is a mall owner. Julie has worked
tirelessly to get retail tenants into the mall for opening day.
One in particular is a large sportswear shop who has done a
lot of promotion based around the key deadline of opening
on Labour Weekend. The brochures have been printed, the
adverts have been in the newspaper and all indications
have been that building work would be completed and all
tenants would be occupying the building space on time.
As time gets nearer it becomes quite apparent that the
building contractors will not be completely finished, but
finished enough for tenants to move their goods in and get
ready for the big day.
But there is one problem – the Council advises Julie that
because the building work is not finished (and therefore the
building has no CCC), and will be open to the public, it
will need a new permission called a Certificate of Public
Use (CPU). If it isn’t issued in time the shops cannot open
the scheduled day.
Of course, as it approaches the opening day Julie’s stress level has
gone up - no kidding! So has that of the manager of the sportswear
shop and the other tenants in the building. To get around this issue,
Julie needs to be quick and smart, and ring the council – talking to
someone senior and explaining the situation with a hope to fast track
the issuing of the CPU.
A CPU can take up to 20 days to process, so, ideally it is good to
apply for one a month or so ahead of the scheduled opening day to
allow the council plenty of time to consider and process it. The basic
requirement is an assurance of public safety from any live wires, safety
systems and other potential dangers that may hurt the public before
the final Code Compliance Certificate is issued.
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Chapter 3 Existing Buildings
1.
Compulsory maintenance
Joe has inherited some contractors who do regular service
and maintenance work and is about to review their contract.
He goes through the paperwork and finds some quotes for
upgrade work in amongst maintenance bills.
One of the buildings Joe looks after has a problem with
its Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF). It has been out of
date for a year. Joe has never dealt with BWOFs before and
approaches the Council for some answers.
There are some compulsory maintenance checks which you are
responsible for by law. These checks are spelled out in a document
called a Compliance Schedule, which is issued by the council and
must be kept where instructed to do so. (In general this will be on the
premises, but not necessarily.)
A property manager can act as the owner’s agent and do some of the
checks as well as issue the BWOF. There are also some checks that only
a specialised person can do - Independent Qualified Persons (IQPs).
You can find them in the Yellow Pages or your council will hold a
register. An IQP needs to do an annual check - the more complicated
the building system (and the older it is) the more checks they will
have to do. Once the checks and maintenance has been done your
IQP will issue you with: ‘Form 12A - Certificate of Compliance with
Inspection, Maintenance and Reporting Procedures’. You will need a
12A for each of the safety systems which allows a BWOF to be issued
to the building.
The things checked by IQPs are called ‘specified systems’, and
include such things as:
•
•
Fire alarms
Sprinklers
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
•
Lifts,
•
Escalators
•
Mechanical ventilation systems
•
Air conditioning units
For a full list of what is included in a specified system – refer to the
back of this book.
If they do not issue you with this form it may be because:
1. Some checks have not been done,
2. Owners or tenants checks have not been logged for the year,
3. Some part of the system is not working and needs fixing.
Joe was told by the contractor that the building systems are old and
will need upgrading before they can be signed off. The estimate for the
work runs into thousands. While Joe does have a budget for on-going
maintenance, he is not convinced that this work is necessary. He has
no base-line to work from and he doesn’t know where to turn.
Systems are checked based on the age of the installation. The BWOF
process is designed to maintain what’s there (whatever the age of the
system) in good working order. Watch out that you are not being
encouraged to upgrade old systems unnecessarily. One day you will
most likely need to replace the system, but in the meantime keeping
it checked and maintained, and reporting on this process annually to
the council is all you need to do.
As a property manager you should check in on the service contractors
for the building annually, if not more frequently. Get them to explain
where things are at, and even if they have been furnishing all the
required paperwork. You don’t want a tenant exodus to jump up and
surprise you because mismanaged outgoings have suddenly escalated
beyond their means!
Systems that don’t meet the relevant specifications will need
upgrading. To ensure compliance, the council has instant fines,
Notices to Fix, and ultimately court prosecutions in their tool kit,
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and they will use them if necessary.
Juggling Julie
Amongst Julie’s portfolio of buildings she has a great
number of BWOFs to manage. She does this very efficiently
through spreadsheets and calendarising the key checks that
need to be done. She juggles a number of different IQP
contractors who service and maintain the systems within
the building. On odd occasions the IQPs tell her that a
system has defects that need fixing, although lately she has
been finding more defects than usual, and wonders whether
the systems really are that bad and why the contractors
haven’t pointed this out before.
The BWOF is an annual cycle with dates varying depending on
when the Compliance Schedule was first issued. The law requires all
owner / occupier checks to be done, all inspection and maintenance
of systems to be complete and all 12As to be issued by Independent
Qualified Persons. Then the BWOF can be issued.
Without a valid BWOF you could:
• Invalidate a sale
• Invalidate the building’s insurance
• Invalidate other approvals or licences to operate (e.g. liquor and
health licences)
• Invalidate funding (e.g. Ministry of Education, Ministry of
Health funding).
Records of all inspections and checks must be kept for two years;
legally they are to be filed with the Compliance Schedule. Building
Networks has created a handy folder with instructions and guidance
to keep all your records together - more details are at the back of this
book.
This system of BWOFs has been in place since 1993, and yet many
commercial building owners are unaware of their responsibilities.
Councils are becoming increasingly vigilant about chasing the return
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of BWOFs on time and ensuring all the documentation is accurate.
Councils can do audits of paperwork and the building to make sure
owners are doing what’s right. Councils charge fees for these audits
on an hourly or site visit basis. Logic says that the easier it is for the
council to find the paperwork the cheaper it will be.
The council can also instantly fine you for any wrong-doing in this
area. These are already set fees (like parking fines) and they start at
$250.00. Not all councils enforce these fines but you don’t want to find
out your council’s policy on this when they have already sent you one.
A property manager would be wise to keep a quality assurance eye
on the BWOF paperwork. Once again you may not be technically
trained but you can manage the paperwork. Do an internal audit of
the system to make sure it works - before the Council does!
2.
Alterations to existing buildings
One of the buildings Julie looks after is up for lease. A new
tenant wants to move in but the building will need some
modifications before they can do so. Between them Julie and
the prospective tenant come to an agreement on who will
pay for what, and they commit to a budget. Julie then talks
with one of the council building control staff when she goes
to pick up the building consent forms and obtain relevant
documentation. She is told that in addition to the work the
prospective tenant wants to do that there will need to be a
further assessment of the building’s means of escape from
fire, and access and facilities for people with disabilities.
Julie is not sure what this will cost and realises this will
potentially affect all the tenants in the building.
When a building is altered the Building Act requires the council to
consider these other matters. The upshot is that the building consent
applicant has to get a fire report and access survey to determine what
features the building has and what is missing compared to modern
Building Code requirements.
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Fire reports are done by fire engineers or people with expertise in
these systems. One place to look for an engineering specialist is the
Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) website (www.ipenz.
org.nz). You can also approach local IQPs who ought to be able to
recommend local options.
3.
Changing the use of a building
One of the old buildings Joe looks after used to be a
family villa. For the past 20 years it has served as a small
educational facility. There are existing toilet and shower
facilities in the building, and now Joe’s boss wants to covert
the building into student accommodation. All Joe wants
to do is move the tables and filing cabinets out and build
wardrobes and bedrooms.
Technically this is called a ‘change of use’. According to the Building
Act if you change what a building is used for then there are specific
areas that the building must be assessed on.
In this case the building’s use will go from CS (Crowd Small) to SA
(Sleeping Accommodation). This now requires the whole building to
be assessed against the current Building Code for six things:
1.
Means of escape from fire
2.
Protection of other property
3.
Sanitary facilities
4.
Structural performance
5.
Fire rating performance:
6.
Access and facilities for people with disabilities.
And if that’s not enough you need to make sure that the building
is no worse than before. For example of the building was well glazed
and insulated and had access to natural light then these items cannot
be compromised during the change of use process.
What does all this mean? Potentially a lot of money, and the project
may not be able to go ahead - reports will be required from professionals
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to verify the building’s suitability for its purpose. This may lead to
potentially expensive structural upgrades and more. The point being,
of course, is that Joe needs to find this out before work gets started.
Otherwise its very likely that the building work may not meet the
required specifications, and may need to be completely redone.
Julie’s client has a two-storied building which has served
as retail space downstairs and professional offices upstairs.
The upper level was occupied by a physiotherapist who had
treatment rooms. The client wants to use the existing bathroom
facilities and just divide the upper floor into two apartments.
He then intends to rent it out to two different tenants.
Some building work will need to be done to convert it into
apartments, but again the whole building will need to be assessed for
change of use. The purpose group has changed from WL (Working
Low) to SR (Sleeping Residential). This could be a good rental income
or sale opportunity, but Julie needs to factor in the potential costs of
compliance in changing the use.
Julie should check the implications of this change before proceeding
past the planning phase. Importantly all of the requirements should be
thought about at planning time to identify whether it’s both practical
and financially feasible for the client.
4.
What to do if you find illegal building work
Julie finds out that one of the tenants in her client’s
building has done some illegal building work. They have
done this without permission from her as property manager,
and have not got the right authorisations from council for
the work. They are now instructing her to demolish the
work and restore the building back to its original state.
One option for Julie is to get the tenant to pay for all the costs
associated with the works and apply for a Certificate of Acceptance.
A Certificate of Acceptance can be used in situations where work has
been done without a Building Consent (i.e. illegally). It can take 20
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working days from the date of application to get one. It’s like applying
for a building consent - you’ll need plans and specifications and there
are fees. You may not get a COA if the Council isn’t convinced the
work is ok, or they may give you a limited approval.
This certificate will provide some verification that part or all of
certain building work complies. But it has its limitations - otherwise
we would all be opting for this certificate and not getting building
consents!
The thing is, even though a Certificate of Acceptance has been
issued councils still have the ability to issue a Notice to Fix and to
prosecute if necessary. The bits of the building work they are happy
with will have a certificate of acceptance whereas the bits they think
does not comply may have to be pulled down. In that case they will
officially issues a notice to fix instructing you to do just that.
It’s been a heck of a weekend, the region was lashed with
rain, trees blew over, and roofs were ripped apart. Joe gets
to work and finds he has some immediate building repairs
to deal to. It’s important that the building is fixed ASAP as
a tree has crashed through a roof and the building is open
to the weather. Joe digs out his carpenter’s apron and gets
stuck into it.
Joe is allowed to do this and can legitimately apply for a Certificate
of Acceptance because the work was done under emergency. He can’t
wait 20 days for a building consent as the building will get further
damage if its not closed in. There tends to be more grace given for
work carried out urgently due to an emergency, and ‘Acts of God’,
but councils don’t look on it as favourably when someone should have
legitimately obtained a building consent and had the time but chose
not to do so.
Don’t worry about getting a COA for building work done before 1
July 1992 – it never needed building consent anyway. (Ah...the good
old permit days... You cannot get a Building Permit anymore! The last
permits were issued in 1991 and since 1992 permission to build has
been called a Building Consent.)
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Chapter 4 The People of
Building Control
1.
Dealing with Councils
Tony and Sarah and Council
Tony and Sarah ring the staff at the council to obtain
information about building consents. They find out that
there is a lot available in the form of information packs,
check sheets, hand outs and booklets.
They fail to tell the council officer that they live in a
suburb which is in the neighbouring council’s district. So,
a lot of the information they have gleaned while helpful is
not specifically relevant to their project.
To obtain some good advice for dealing with
building consents and trades-people, visit the
Consumer Build website www.consumerbuild.
org.nz
Tony and Sarah have fallen into a common trap that many people
do. There are seventy-three local (council) authorities each with their
own territorial boundary, and they each have a mandate to administer
building controls in their patch. It is really helpful to tell the council
where exactly the building is located before asking them more detailed
questions.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Find out which council area you are in by
going to www.lgnz.co.nz/lg-sector/maps
My best piece of advice to you is to treat council people like you
want to be treated yourself. Remember these poor people have to deal
with a lot of grumpy and sometimes obnoxiously rude people. It may
sound trite but a smile and some good communication goes a long
way.
Find out the names of the various people who may be involved
in LIMs, PIMs, building consent vetting and processing as well as
building inspectors. Many people identify councils with having
inspectors only. Behind the scenes there are many pairs of hands your
consent will travel through. Sometimes you can get in quick and ask
about straightforward technical or legal knowledge that can help you
sort some things out well before you have invested any time or further
costs in whether a project can go ahead or not.
Identify who actually is doing the vetting as this person will look for
whether you have the right amount of information present and that
can be your first stumbling block. You may have to go back for more
detailed advice.
Once the building consent is in the door it will go through a series
of planning checks and there may be different people doing what
is called plan processing. This will include building specialists and
plumbing and drainage specialists. They may also farm some of
this work out to specific specialists such as engineers, heating and
ventilating contractors, and fire engineers etc.
Some complicated fire designs are also checked over by the Design
Review Unit of the NZ Fire Service.
There are also a number of different building inspectors and on one
project you may have four or five or more inspectors coming in to
look at different parts of the construction. Each of these teams will
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have a leader or senior management person so if you feel you are not
getting any headway with a particular staff member you might like to
enquire as to who is the team leader and work with that person. Some
larger councils’ have chief building officers or senior building officials
as they are also known. These people may also be able to help you if
you get stuck.
A last resort piece of advice - if you have been refused a Building
Consent or Code Compliance Certificate from a council and
you are not happy with the written reasons why, contact the
Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (Building
and Housing Group) (MBIE). Their staff can talk to you
over the phone or you could go for a formal ‘determination’.
In a ‘determination’ the MBIE will make a ruling on whether the
consent should be issued or not on a particular legal or technical issue.
There is more information about determinations available on
www.mbie.govt.nz. The costs are small but the time and preparation
for this process is the heavy component. It will be weeks not days
before this decision is made and issued to you.
2.
Getting the right information from Council:
Marco and Wiremu and the Council
Marco and Wiremu have heard that dealing with a
council is time consuming and costly; their friends and
associates in property investment often tell stories of their bad
experiences. So this perception leaves Marco and Wiremu
all fired up to have a real battle with their local council.
They put more faith in their legal advisors and property
friends and don’t think the council has any information
that is relevant.
While we can all have bad experiences at times of poor customer
services, most councils are keen to provide good service to
their ratepayers. Council officers are people too and with good
communication and a bit of mutual respect the process can go a lot
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smoother. Like it or not, councils are the gatekeepers of the process
and the office of public record so, if you are going to own a building or
do building work within a building, you are going to have to engage
with a council.
Here is a list of information that councils hold that may be useful
to you.
Council websites
There is a lot of web-based information on council websites
including district plans, application forms, guides and other check
lists that are available at either low or no cost.
When searching council websites look under
the words ‘building’, ‘building consents’,
‘licensing’, ‘consents’.
There may be other permissions you need to obtain such as Resource
Consents, Liquor or Food Licences, or even sign permits. These topics
are not covered in this book, but it is useful to do some research on
council websites in this same area.
Property Information or Property file
The council is required to keep all information related to your
property for the life of the building. There is usually a unique
identifying number specific to your property and in the past a folder
with all current information would be filed. Some Councils have bits
and pieces of information all over the place (especially forreally old
buildings). You may need to alert the Council a few days ahead so
they can get the required information from archives ready for you to
view. These days many councils scan and store records electronically,
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
but in many cases you may find yourself pouring through old paper
copies of plans and specifications relating to your building. If you
are looking at the 1980’s, some records are still held on micro fiche.
You probably will be charged a fee for photocopying of records. Most
enable you to look through the file for free but there may be research or
collection fees. Check beforehand. Other councils will supply all of the
required information on a DVD or CD for a small fee.
Land Information Memorandum (LIM)
You don’t need to own the building to get a copy of this
document. Anyone can apply for a LIM at any time. The LIM
may tell you about:
• records of stormwater or sewage drains
• protection of buildings, for example, by the Historic Places
Trust
• information on public and private waste systems on the site
• special land features such as erosion, flooding
• any rates owing on the land
• any permits, consents or requisitions, or other certificates
previously issued by the local council
• zoning and what you can use the land for.
• any notices to the council by any statutory organisation that
has the power to classify land or buildings for any purpose, e.g.
Historic Places Trust.
• any notices to the council given by any network utility operator
under the Building Act , e.g. Water supply, electricity, etc.
• any other information that the council thinks relevant.
Notices to Fix
These are formal and legal advice notices from the council that work
has either not been completed or does not comply with the law. Be
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very careful to see that these Notices have been fulfilled and they are
no longer current. (Prior to 2005 these were called Notices to Rectify).
3.
The Building Inspector is your friend
When Joe, our property manager was a builder, he once
had a run-in with a council. He is not looking forward
to dealing with the new council which is in s bigger city
and he anticipates having lots of road blocks to getting the
building work underway.
Like many other building industry people Joe has a healthy disrespect
for his local council. However, like in any other business relationship
you can always find someone who is able to communicate well,
provide the correct information and go through whatever hurdles are
necessary in order to get the desired outcome. Joe would be wise to
meet with the council and get all the relevant check lists and forms
ready before he even thinks about doing any building work.
In the building consent process a lot of the road blocks occur because
the design information isn’t accurate or up-to-date to start with. Then
the council starts a laborious process of writing further information
request letters back to the designers or the applicant themselves. This
creates delays and by the time mail has returned back to the applicant,
time can easily blow out.
There are seventy-three local (council) authorities, each with their own
territorial boundary, and they each have a mandate to administer building
controls in their patch. It is really helpful to tell the council where exactly
the building is located before asking them more detailed questions.
Find out which council area you are in by going to: http://www.
lgnz.co.nz/lg-sector/maps/
My strongest piece of advice to you is to treat council people like you
want to be treated yourself. Remember that these poor people have
to deal with a lot of grumpy and at times obnoxiously rude people. It
may sound trite, but a smile and some good communication goes a
long way. Get on a first name basis with the building inspectors and
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
anyone else in council you have regular contact with.
Many people identify councils with having inspectors only. Behind
the scenes there are actually many pairs of hands your consent
applications will travel through. Sometimes you can get in quick
and ask about straightforward technical or legal matters, knowledge
that can help you sort some things out well before you have invested
any time or further costs in whether a project can go ahead or not.
Find out the names of the various people who may be involved in
LIMs, PIMs, and building consent vetting and processing, as well as
building inspectors.
There are also a number of different building inspectors, and on
one project you may have four or five or more inspectors coming in
to look at different parts of the construction. Each of these teams will
have a leader or senior management person, so if you feel you are not
getting any headway with a particular staff member you might like to
enquire as to who is the team leader and work with that person. Some
larger councils have chief building officers or senior building officials
as they are also known. These people may also be able to help you if
you get stuck.
As a last resort piece of advice - if you have been refused a Building
Consent or Code Compliance Certificate from a council, contact
the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (Building and
Housing Group) (MBIE). Their staff can talk to you over the phone
or you could go for a formal ‘determination’. In a determination the
MBIE will make a ruling on whether the consent should be issued or
not on a particular legal or technical issue.
There is more information about determinations available on
www.mbie.govt.nz. The costs are small but the time and preparation
involved for this process are the heavy components. It will be weeks
not days before a decision is made and issued to you.
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4.
DIY Owners - Builders
Summer is on its way and Catherine wants an extension
to her holiday home. Her friends are a handy lot and they
want to give her a hand to build it.
Jim wants a new home which he is going to make his
permanent residence. Jim and his brother have built houses
before and they are going to work on this project together.
In both of these examples the owners can do the work
themselves under the Owner-Builder exemption rules. Let’s
check out what is required.
The three requirements are:
1.
You have to own the property and you already live in it
or you are going to (This includes a bach or holiday
home)
2.
You have to do the work yourself, or with the help of
your unpaid friends and family members
3.
And you have not done this type of thing within the
previous 3 years.
You will still need a building consent. This means plans need to be
drawn up and the usual Council building inspectors will turn up and
check the work.
Effectively it means you do not need to use a Licensed Building
Practitioners (LBP).
You will need to fill in a couple of statutory forms and swear on oath
in from of a JP that what you are saying n the forms is the truth. Here
is an extract from the form:
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5.
The secrets of the building industry
Dealing with designers and architects and tradespeople
Julie’s client gives her authority to proceed with a proposed
building project but asks her to come back with some idea of
costs. She needs to find a reputable designer and contractors
to do the work. Julie takes one look at the Yellow Pages and
wonders where to start.
While Julie has a good working relationship with the local Council
she needs to find a good designer. There are some key questions that
she should ask the architect, or designer, prior to engaging them.
There are also a range of questions she should ask the builder and
subcontractors who provide the trades that will be required for this,
and possibly future building projects.
Over the years I have learned many secrets of the building industry.
It is not that the industry is trying to keep secrets, but as you would
expect, that the general public don’t know the intricacies of how it
works. I have had many conversations with people who believe all
builders in this country are registered – this is not true. I have also met
people who think the only person who can get a Building Consent
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is an architect – this is also not true. Lets take a look at some of the
industry groups and how they work.
Designers:
A word used to refer to architects, draughtspersons, architectural
designers, designers, engineers, and so on.
• Architects
• Have a university degree based;
• Can be registered by the Architects Registration Board but this
is voluntary;
• Once registered a compulsory professional development
requirement is in place;
• An architect can operate without being registered;
• Many architects belong to the NZ Institute of Architects who
have membership code of ethics and rules. Under that scheme
an architect can be a part of an accredited practice to the
NZIA.
• Architectural Technicians
• Are not the same as architects;
• Are usually polytechnic trained and have a more detailed focus
on how things are drawn to be built and fit together rather than
the overall conceptual design.
• Draftsperson
• May be polytechnic trained;
• May be a member of a design organisation such as the Design
Association of NZ or the Designers Institute of NZ;
• Also provide more detailed specs and drawings
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• Engineers
•
Engineers can have a university degree or be polytechnic trained;
• Can be members of the Institution of Professional Engineers
(IPENZ). IPENZ has rigorous codes of conduct amongst its
members;
• Can become chartered or a CPENG engineer which is a formal
registration process. Once they are ‘CPENG-ed’ they also have
a compulsory professional development component of their
ongoing practicing certificate;
• Are speciality designers with special areas of expertise such as
civil, mechanical, fire, construction and so on;
• They can operate without being chartered;
• Ask what speciality the engineer has.
• Builders
• Registration of builders in NZ started in 03/2012. There are two
main associations that have membership organisations within
the building or carpentry fraternity. They are the Registered
Master Builders Federation and the Certified Builders
Association of New Zealand. Licensed Building Practitioners is
for carpentry and site lead licences.
• Because builders have not had a compulsory qualification some
are trade qualified and others are not
• In the meantime it is important to know that the builder that is
being used is qualified and knows the Building Act rules.
• For more up-to-date information on Licensed Building
Practitioners (LBP’s) see the Ministry of Business Innovation
and Employment website www.dbh.govt.nz.
• Specialty Trades
• Some specialist trades are registered. They are: Plumbers,
Drainlayers, Gasfitters, Electricians.
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• They are governed by specific rules for their qualification and
practice.
• Electricians and Gasfitters are allowed to self certify their work
• Plumbers, drainlayers, and other specialist trades have their
work double checked by council building inspectors.
• Other speciality trades that also have their own trade groups are:
• Painters
• Fire alarm installers and checkers
• Concrete placers
• Landscapers
• Brick and block layers
• Heating, ventilation and air-conditioning installers
and checkers.
• Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme (LBP)
• MBIE is MBIE is responsible for the LBP scheme. As noted in
chapter 1 part 5 licensing of designers, builders etc is a more
recent (2012) development.
Here is the list of licensing categories.
• Bricklaying and Blocklaying
• Carpentry.
• Concrete Structure
• Design 1, 2 and 3
• External Plastering
• Foundations
• Roofing
• Site 1, 2 and 3
• Steel Structure
For up-to-date information refer to the Ministry’s website below.
www.mbie.govt.nz
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Glossary of Building Law Terms
Like any industry the building one has its own language. Building
law has specific technical and legal terms that may not mean much
to you. This section contains a list of regularly used terms as well as
abbreviations for those terms. These words are used throughout the
book. You may find it useful to come back to this section from timeto-time to familiarise yourself with the language.
Alteration: Rebuilding, re-erecting, repairing, enlarging or extending
a building.
Building Act 2004: The law that governs what you can and cannot
build, the process for building consents and the rules of building
control.
Building Consent: Consent issued by a Building Consent Authority
for building work to begin in accordance with the approved plans and
specifications. .
Building Consent Authority: another name given to a council when
they issue building consents and code compliance certificates.
Code Compliance Certificate: a certificate issued by the council at
the completion of building work, confirming that the building work
complies with the building consent.
Compliance Schedule: a document issued by the council listing
the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures for specified
systems and features in a building (such as lifts, fire alarms, air
conditioning ) to ensure their continued safety of operation.
Determination: A binding decision on matters of doubt or dispute
regarding compliance with the Building Act, Regulations and Code
made by MBIE.
Land Information Memorandum (LIM): A report issued by a local
council containing the information held by the council about a piece
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of land, including what the land can be used for under the district
plan rules, rates information, and other restrictions.
Notice to Fix: Formal notice from a council that can direct all or part
of building work to stop. If not followed you could end up with a fine
or in court.
Plans and specifications: Drawing and words describing the building
work.
Project Information Memorandum (PIM): A report, issued by the
local council noting information likely to be relevant to the proposed
building work such as potential erosion, subsidence, slippage, and
flooding. It also includes names of other agencies or laws you need to
consult with over the project
Territorial Authority (TA): City or district council.
Working day: Important because these are the days you can count
for when certificates and permissions are being processed. It excludes
statutory holidays, anniversary days and between 20 December and
10 January.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Helpful websites
Training resources in the Building Act www.buildingnetworks.co.nz
and
www.boinz.org.nz
MBIE (Building and Housing) www.mbie.govt.nz
All NZ Law (Acts and Regulations) www.legislation.govt.nz
Local council boundaries www.localgovt.co.nz
Building Surveyors in your area www.buildingsurveyors.co.nz
Fire safety www.fire.org.nz
Quotable Value www.qv.co.nz
Land Information New Zealand www.linz.govt.nz
Professional and trades organisations
Engineers
The Institute of Professional Engineers www.ipenz.org.nz
Association of Consulting Engineers NZ www.acenz.org.nz
Architects and designers
Registered Architects www.nzrab.org.nz
Designers Institute of New Zealand DINZ www.dinz.org.nz
The NZ Institute of Architects www.nzia.co.nz
NZ Institute of Landscape Architects NZILA www.nzila.co.nz
Landscaping NZ www.lianz.org.nz
Licenced Building Practitioners Public Register wwwdbh.govt.nz
Inspectors and Surveyors
Building officials www.boinz.org.nz
NZ Institute of Building Surveyors www.buildingsurveyor.co.nz
NZ Institute of Quantity Surveyors www.nziqs.co.nz
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The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Tradespersons
NZ Contractors Federation www.nzcontractors.co.nz
NZ Building Subcontractors Federation www.nzbsf.org.nz
Registered Master Builders Federation www.masterbuilder.org.nz
Certified Builders Association www.cbanz.org.nz
Registers of electricians and gasfitters www.ewrb.govt.nz
Electrical Contractors Association of New Zealand www.ecanz.org.
nz/
Register of Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers www.pgdb.co.nz
Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers www.masterplumbers.org.nz
Fire Protection Association NZ Inc www.fireprotection.org.nz
Roofers www.roofingassn.org.nz
Association of Wall and Ceiling Industries of New Zealand
www.awcinz.org.nz
Master Painters www.masterpainters.co.nz
Concrete placers www.mcpa.org.nz
Heating Ventilation & Air Conditioning Contractors Association
www.hvac.org.nz
Institute of Refrigeration, Heating & Air Conditioning
Engineers
of New Zealand Inc. www.irhace.org.nz
Refrigeration Air Conditioning Companies Association
www.racca.org.nz
Scaffolding and Rigging NZ (Inc) www.sarnz.org.nz
47
The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
About The Author:
Rosemary (Rosie) Killip is the Director and lead learning and
development consultant for Building Networks NZ Ltd.
Rosemary provides education, training and advice on the Building
Act, and the NZ Building Code like no one else. It’s not just boring
old stuffy Building Law - her training is delivered with energy, passion
and fun.
She brings with her practical insights and wisdom from 20 plus
years of working alongside building compliance staff, Council and
building inspectors as well as building owners..
Yes and 20 plus years of knowledge and practice under her belt does
help!
Be educated, informed and inspired at
www.buildingnetworks.co.nz
Contact details
Building Networks NZ Ltd
PO Box 12 463, Thorndon, Wellington 6144, New Zealand
Phone: +64 4 472 1702
Mobile 027 223 5747
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.buildingnetworks.co.nz
48
The Beginner’s Guide to Building Law
Notes:
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Rosemary (Rosie) Killip brings with her substantial insider knowledge of how councils review and interpret the rules of the built
environment. She provides education, training and advice on the
Building Act, and the NZ Building Code like no one else. Rosie
delivers training with energy, passion and fun. She distilled all she
knows in a handy book for beginners. She has some secrets to
tell and this book delivers.
Be educated, informed and inspired at
www.buildingnetworks.co.nz