Bella Vista inspections saga leaves council sign-offs in limbo

TAURANGA City Council might be about to lose its ability to sign off on building inspections after the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment said it was ‘‘closely monitoring the situation’’ following the failed Bella Vista Homes saga which saw 21 homes evacuated and considered dangerous or affected, despite passing council inspections.

‘‘As the Building Consent Authority, Council is responsible for the consenting process of house builds and issuing code compliance certificates,’’ MBIE’s Paul Hobbs said.

‘‘They also have responsibility to inspect building work for which they granted a building consent.’’

If serious or repeated noncompliance is identified, MBIE said it would assess whether the council had failed.