Taking the hassle out of the building consent process

Hon Maurice Williamson

The National-led Government is committed to speeding up the building consent process to ensure that New Zealanders are not unduly held back in their construction plans.

Many from within our ethnic communities have expressed concern about the amount of red tape and delays they have to endure when going through the building consent process.

To address this, we introduced the Building Amendment Bill (No 2) into Parliament in March to reform the Building Act 2004 and take many of the hassles out of gaining building consents.

That Bill is now an Act and has become law after it completed its passage through Parliament at the end of last month.

The new law introduces multiple-use building approvals - a measure that will reduce duplication and fast-track the consent process for group home builders who build homes on sites across the country using the same, or similar, designs.

It also defines a new streamlined process that will manage minor variations to building plans after the consent is issued - saving time for applicants and local Councils.

The Building Amendment Act comes at a very important time for the building and construction sector, with the economic downturn continuing to affect the industry.

Building firms need as much help as they can get and this Act will help boost efficiency and productivity at a time when it is most needed.

And if builders pass on cost savings, then consumers will benefit too.

Reducing building delays and costs is an important first step towards ensuring we make it as quick and easy as possible for people to deal with local Councils when going through the building consent process - but it doesn't go far enough.

Everyone in the sector is going through tough times - homeowners, developers and builders - so there's more to be done and I am committed to seeing this happen.

Preliminary work on a wider review of the Building Act is progressing and I hope to be able to announce further streamlining measures in due course.

The review's terms of reference is currently being finalised but it is expected to cover a range of issues, including reducing the amount of building work requiring a building consent.

The review will also take a good hard look at the underlying risk and liability framework in the sector, removing unnecessary building control regulations and explore the extent to which licensed building practitioners could self-certify their work.

By introducing a smarter system that is quick and user friendly, we can ensure that New Zealand continues to grow - which will not only benefit our economy, but our nation on the whole.