Two good changes from Penk

Chris Penk announced:

“Right now, councils are hesitant to sign off on building consents and inspections because they could be held liable for all defects, leaving ratepayers to foot the bill.

“This often happens when one of the parties responsible cannot pay for repairs, for example, if a business goes bust.

“Currently, building owners can claim full compensation from any responsible party – and it’s often councils, with the deepest pockets and no option to walk away, that end up paying out.

“The risk-aversion this creates leads to frustrating delays and extra cost for builders and homeowners.

This is definitely a big issue. I recall when I was a parliamentary staffer working on the leaky homes issue. We got told that almost inevitably councils end up paying the most because they are the last one standing.

The council (ie ratepayers) may only be responsible for 5% of the problem but they end up with 100% of the liability.

“The Government will scrap the current framework, known as joint and several liability, and replace it with proportionate liability.

“Under this new model, each party will only be responsible for the share of work they carried out.

“Building owners will be protected if things go wrong and we’re exploring options such as requiring professional indemnity insurance and home warranties, similar to arrangements in Australia.

This seems a very worthwhile change, as does the potential requirement for indemnity insurance.

“The second major change I am announcing will allow councils to voluntarily consolidate their Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) functions with each other.

“It is ridiculous builders, designers and homeowners must navigate 66 different interpretations of the Building Code, because of the number of council BCAs across the country.

“Builders can be rejected on paperwork that would be accepted by a neighbouring authority simply because each BCA applies the rules differently.

“Many councils have asked for this and I expect they will seize the opportunity to consolidate, share resources like building inspectors and IT systems, and pass the savings on to ratepayers.

Also a good change. The Wellington councils could lead the way and set up one consent authority for the region. Wellingtonians often look to buy or build across the region – whether it be in Wellington proper, the Hutt or Porirua.