DIYers delight at consents
DIY-ENTHUSIASTS will save time and money when new rules scrapping building consent requirements for low-risk building projects come into force.
A change to the Building Act, to be introduced in August, will mean that anyone can build a sleepout, a carport or a shed without needing council permission.
The move will scrap as many as 9000 consents having to be reviewed by local authorities, saving about $18 million in fees.
Under the scheme, the Ministry of Business,
Innovation and Employment (MBIE) will increase the number of low-risk building work that does not require preapproval.
And Building and Construction Minister Jenny Salesa said the changes will mean New Zealanders save time and money, while councils can focus on higher-risk building work.
‘‘Single-storey detached buildings up to 30 square metres — such as sleepouts, sheds and greenhouses, carports, awnings and water storage bladders — will now not require a councilapproved building consent,’’ Salesa said. ‘‘Some of the new exemptions will utilise the Licensed Builder Practitioners scheme, which recognises the competence of these building practitioners and allows them to join chartered professional engineers and certifying plumbers in having their own suite of exemptions.’’
She said the move would also be a boost to the building and construction sector in the Covid19 climate.
Construction Industry Council chair and Registered Master Builders Association chief executive David Kelly welcomed the move, saying it struck the right balance between ‘‘risk and allowing people to get on’’.
‘‘Overall, I think it’s good. The issue of delays to building consent have been a bone of contention and annoyance for many years for builders, so this is a step in the right direction,’’ he said.
‘‘It will be good for homeowners, so that they don’t have delays to small projects, good for builders . . . with the smaller projects and not waiting in line with everyone else and good for councils because they can focus on where the real risk is.’’
He said some of the work will still require an engineer to signoff the design or a building practitioner to supervise some work.
‘‘That’s really important because it recognises the role of the engineer and the licensed building practitioners, which is what we’ve also been asking for,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s not just for doit-yourselfers, it’s actually good for qualified builders because a lot of them do small projects, so this will be good for them, so they can get on with them and not be delayed.’’
‘Delays to building consent have been a bone of contention . . . for builders, so this is a step in the right direction.’ DAVID KELLY