Rules around building licences
WHAT are licensed building practitioners? Under the Building Act 2004 the Department of Building and Housing established the Licensed Building Practitioner Scheme in November 2007.
This scheme sets out a regulated process where skilled and qualified building practitioners are required to demonstrate their ability to meet industry consulted competencies in order to obtain the status of being an LBP.
The scheme has seven licence classes: Designers. Carpenters. External plasterers. Bricklayers and blocklayers.
Foundation specialist roofers.
Site – on-site supervisors or managers.
Registered architects and plumbers as well as chartered professional engineers are also deemed to be licensed.
The licensed building practitioner logo confirms for consumers that the building practitioners they are engaging have been assessed as technically competent in their licensed field.
From March 1, 2012, changes to the Building Act 2004 mean that building work – including design work – that relates to either the structure – load-bearing walls; foundations – or moisture penetration – roofs; cladding – of homes, including small to medium sized apartments, will be classified as restricted building work (RBW).
RWB which also includes the design of fire safety systems for small to medium apartments, is deemed to be building work critical to the integrity of a building and therefore required to be carried out by competent, appropriately licensed building practitioners.
An LBP can be identified either by producing their photo ID licence card or by checking their details against the public register.
Before undertaking any building project homeowners should ensure they are fully aware of their responsibilities.
The Building Act 2004 affects the construction, alteration, demolition and maintenance of new and existing buildings throughout New Zealand.
It sets standards and procedures for people involved in building work to ensure buildings are built right first time. It covers how work can be done, who can do it, and when it needs to be inspected.
The building act covers building work, but there are other laws that could affect your project. These include council bylaws, the Resource Management Act, and the laws specifying that certain plumbing, gas and electrical work must be done by qualified professionals.
You cannot do less than the building code requires.
Councils have powers to require that property owners fix work not complying with the building code.
Most city and district councils are building consent authorities (BCA).
BCAs issue building consents, undertake inspections during construction and issue code compliance certificates, certifying that the finished work complies with the
building code. They also issue notices to fix and compliance schedules.
BCAs charge a fee for these services.
Councils have a range of building-related responsibilities.
They keep records about all the properties in their area, issue project information memoranda and certificates of acceptance, monitor compliance schedules and follow up notices to fix.
Councils also have powers to address breaches of the building act.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment manages the system that regulates building work and monitors its effectiveness.
The ministry also monitors the performance of district and city councils, and can investigate complaints.
If a dispute arises over compliance with the building code, or a decision made by a BCA either party can apply to the Ministry for a determination, which is a legally binding decision.
If you do not want to manage the building project yourself then you may want to consider engaging a site licensed building practitioner.
A site licence shows competency in organising and managing building projects including demonstrating knowledge of the regulatory requirements of the building and construction industry; showing technical knowledge of construction methods and practices; managing personal and providing technical supervision.
If you are currently undertaking a building project then now is the time to check that the designer you are using is either licensed, or a registered architect or a chartered professional engineer.
It may take many months from the time you engage a designer until your building consent plans are submitted.
If your designer is not licensed any design work that includes restricted building work may either not be able to be submitted or will need to be checked by a licensed designer; registered architect or chartered professional engineer – potentially adding to the build costs. See dbh.govt.nz.