onsent changes set to help DIY, multiple home builders
Monday, 24 March 2008
Home owners wanting to do minor DIY and developers building multiple units should benefit from changes to the building consent process the Government hopes will save homeowners time and money.
Announcing the changes today, Building and Construction Minister Shane Jones admitted that tougher regulations brought in with the leaky homes crisis had in some cases gone too far.
One example was a south Auckland homeowner who wanted to move a toilet 1.5m.
Mr Jones said the various consents needed had cost the homeowner more money and time than the actual building work.
"It just sounded so absurd that it couldn't be true."
The proposed package includes:
* Changes to the Building Act so that minor alterations can be made without getting a building consent. For instance, this could include moving a door or window that did not affect the structural integrity of a house.
* Allowing a single multiple "mega" building consent for large scale developments of 30 to 50 homes. These group volume-built houses, such as those done by Keith Hay and Jennian, have similar construction and engineering specifications. Individual inspections will still be carried out to ensure foundations etc were safe.
* Development of a code of compliance for a starter home.
Mr Jones said up to 10 designs could be drawn up for starter homes that could be built around the country but covered under the one building consent. District council approval would still be needed to ensure a starter home was not built on "some old sewer pipe or in a swamp or something like that".
* PIM – project information memorandum – will only be required when a whole house is being built. PIMs – which cost around $300-$400 – will not be needed for alterations that did not change the building envelope of non-historic buildings. For instance, shop fitouts or removing internal walls to create an open plan home.
* Officials willd also look at whether builders can in the next few years be licensed to certify certain aspects of their work as building code compliant. This will put them on the same footing as plumbers and electricians who could certify their own work.
Mr Jones said it was likely the changes could be made through regulations rather then legislation.
He would report to Cabinet by the end of May. The process around the starter home compliance was to be completed by the end of October.
Mr Jones said the proposals were not a "silver bullet" to affordable homes.
But a driver in the cost of building was the time taken by local government to process building consents.
The costs of a building consent could be 2 per cent of the cost of the average house. But extra time taken to get a building consent added extra money because most people were paying interest on money borrowed money.
The Master Builders Federation had said delays in the building consent process added up to $30,000 on to the cost of a new house.
Mr Jones said he had asked to see how that figure had been arrived at, but if that was the case that was more than 10 per cent of the cost of the average house.
Earlier changes to the Building Act had been an understandable response to the leaky homes crisis but there was a case for "greater simplicity and flexibility" in the building consent process.
Building inspectors had told him the consent process for minor alterations – such as decks, internal renovations or shop fitouts – was tying up valuable resources.
National finance spokesman Bill English said the Government had been warned its "complicated bureaucratic reforms" would cost homeowners and today's policies were an admission of its "guilt and failure".
Certified Builders chief executive Derek Baxter said builders' biggest frustrations had been inconsistent interpretations and variable timeframes for processing consents.
The real challenge of the package was striking the balance where structural integrity, weathertightness and safety were maintained while freeing up time for council staff to focus on more complex plans, he said.
Construction Industry Council chairman Richard Michael said any moves to cut costs were to be applauded.
- NZPA
Monday, 24 March 2008
Home owners wanting to do minor DIY and developers building multiple units should benefit from changes to the building consent process the Government hopes will save homeowners time and money.
Announcing the changes today, Building and Construction Minister Shane Jones admitted that tougher regulations brought in with the leaky homes crisis had in some cases gone too far.
One example was a south Auckland homeowner who wanted to move a toilet 1.5m.
Mr Jones said the various consents needed had cost the homeowner more money and time than the actual building work.
"It just sounded so absurd that it couldn't be true."
The proposed package includes:
* Changes to the Building Act so that minor alterations can be made without getting a building consent. For instance, this could include moving a door or window that did not affect the structural integrity of a house.
* Allowing a single multiple "mega" building consent for large scale developments of 30 to 50 homes. These group volume-built houses, such as those done by Keith Hay and Jennian, have similar construction and engineering specifications. Individual inspections will still be carried out to ensure foundations etc were safe.
* Development of a code of compliance for a starter home.
Mr Jones said up to 10 designs could be drawn up for starter homes that could be built around the country but covered under the one building consent. District council approval would still be needed to ensure a starter home was not built on "some old sewer pipe or in a swamp or something like that".
* PIM – project information memorandum – will only be required when a whole house is being built. PIMs – which cost around $300-$400 – will not be needed for alterations that did not change the building envelope of non-historic buildings. For instance, shop fitouts or removing internal walls to create an open plan home.
* Officials willd also look at whether builders can in the next few years be licensed to certify certain aspects of their work as building code compliant. This will put them on the same footing as plumbers and electricians who could certify their own work.
Mr Jones said it was likely the changes could be made through regulations rather then legislation.
He would report to Cabinet by the end of May. The process around the starter home compliance was to be completed by the end of October.
Mr Jones said the proposals were not a "silver bullet" to affordable homes.
But a driver in the cost of building was the time taken by local government to process building consents.
The costs of a building consent could be 2 per cent of the cost of the average house. But extra time taken to get a building consent added extra money because most people were paying interest on money borrowed money.
The Master Builders Federation had said delays in the building consent process added up to $30,000 on to the cost of a new house.
Mr Jones said he had asked to see how that figure had been arrived at, but if that was the case that was more than 10 per cent of the cost of the average house.
Earlier changes to the Building Act had been an understandable response to the leaky homes crisis but there was a case for "greater simplicity and flexibility" in the building consent process.
Building inspectors had told him the consent process for minor alterations – such as decks, internal renovations or shop fitouts – was tying up valuable resources.
National finance spokesman Bill English said the Government had been warned its "complicated bureaucratic reforms" would cost homeowners and today's policies were an admission of its "guilt and failure".
Certified Builders chief executive Derek Baxter said builders' biggest frustrations had been inconsistent interpretations and variable timeframes for processing consents.
The real challenge of the package was striking the balance where structural integrity, weathertightness and safety were maintained while freeing up time for council staff to focus on more complex plans, he said.
Construction Industry Council chairman Richard Michael said any moves to cut costs were to be applauded.
- NZPA
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