Government moves afoot

This Issue This is a part of the Affordability feature

By - , Build 106

Earlier this year, the government announced plans to simplify building consent processes and encourage the building of more affordable houses.

The government aims to improve flexibility and reduce regulatory costs as part of its plan to encourage the building of more affordable houses. The initiatives include proposals to:

  • simplify the design and approval of basic ‘starter’ homes by publishing a new Compliance Document, which will also include several pre-approved designs
  • allow ‘multi-use’ consents to improve efficiency for group builders and building consent authorities
  • reduce the number of building projects that need a mandatory Project Information Memorandum (PIM) by making a PIM optional for internal renovations that do not alter the building envelope of non-historic buildings
  • reduce the number of building activities that require a building consent based on the level of risk involved, primarily where work is minor.

The Department of Building and Housing is developing the proposals and is due to report to the Minister for Building and Construction by 30 May 2008. The new Compliance Document for starter homes is expected to be in place by the end of October 2008.

Local government measures

Other proposals include the Department working with local government to:

  • investigate the feasibility of a national online consenting facility
  • explore setting up regional consent processing units to pool expertise and process complex building consents
  • look at ways to improve collection and sharing of information on building products and product performance.

Certifying work may get easier

In addition, the Department will look at the possibility of allowing ‘competent persons’ to certify certain aspects of their work as being Building Code compliant, once the Licensed Building Practitioner scheme is sufficiently bedded down. This could reduce building inspections to the ‘critical few’ for recognised professionals.

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