Plan to self-certify building work a worry for industry

A Christchurch family used newspaper to plug the gaps in their ‘‘leaky home’’ after a shoddy rebuild, an advocate for homeowners says.

The firm that managed the rebuild of the New Brighton property, on behalf of IAG, says the case highlights why the building industry should not be able to sign off their own work after the Government mooted self-certification this week as part of the Rules Reduction Taskforce.

The workmanship at the home is now the subject of a complaint to the Licensed Building Practitioners Board.

Home Owners and Buyers Association president John Gray said the unnamed couple moved back into their home before it was completed but it did not take long for ‘‘major problems’’ to reveal themselves.

He claimed the property was leaky and structurally unsound but obtained a Code Compliance Certificate from the Christchurch City Council.

‘‘They started finding more serious issues in relation to the structure. It was built so badly that it was structurally compromised.’’

The framing was so far from being ‘‘straight and true’’ that repairs to the external cladding were rendered impossible, Gray said.

‘‘[The couple] were left living in the house with two children throughout winter, with cold air coming in through the gaps in the wall.

‘‘Cladding had been stripped off . . . and they were plugging up the holes with newspaper.’’

He said he was aware of about 60 new homes built in post-quake Christchurch that had major building flaws, including leaks and structural weaknesses.

The managing director of Penny Homes, John Penny, confirmed the building defects at the property but said it had never leaked and said the homeowners decided to stay in the house while repairs took place.

He said the company hired a Hawke’s Bay builder for the initial job, who was a licensed building practitioner.

‘‘It’s so hard to find good tradespeople and, unfortunately, we were caught out in this case.’’

Rectifying the work carried out by the subcontractor had cost Penny Homes more than $200,000, he said, and would be completed in about six weeks.

‘‘I’m not saying we were totally innocent because we were the project managers who monitored that job . . . but finding good staff is a struggle.’’

Penny said the firm had laid a complaint with the Licensed Building Practitioners Board against the man, who Penny said had since filed for bankruptcy.

On Tuesday, the Government released the ‘‘Loopy Rules Report’’ after the Rules Reduction Taskforce found there were too many frustrating rules and regulations, with too many applied inconsistently.

One of the proposals identified was to allow builders with a certain level of competence to sign off their own work, to reduce compliance costs.

Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith said builders effectively self-certifying was something he was considering. It would allow builders to ‘‘just get on’’ with the job without needing a building consent.

Cladding had been stripped off . . . and they were plugging up the holes with newspaper

John Gray Home Owners and Buyers Association president

Penny said scaling back building regulations would ultimately result in more substandard work while Gray called the proposal ‘‘absolutely ridiculous’’.

‘‘To let the building industry off the leash and allow them to self-certify is dangerous,’’ Gray said.

Christchurch builder Gideon Couper said self-certification was a ‘‘complete failure’’ when it was first implemented years ago.

‘‘It might sound like a great idea but when builders are driven by time and money . . . the temptation to take shortcuts is huge.’’

Couper said the problems revealed with unconsented structural repairs in the earthquake repair programme were the ‘‘perfect example’’ of why allowing builders to sign off their own work was not a good idea.

‘‘They should drop this now and not pursue it. If they do it will be at their own peril.’’

The city council would not comment on the New Brighton property because a complaint was before the Licensed Building Practitioners Board.