Building Act brings fee increases
April 26, 2005

Government measures to ensure that buildings are designed and built right first time have resulted in a rise in building consent fees, advises North Shore City Council.

The Building Act 2004 came into force at the end of March and new measures for building consent and inspection processes have begun to take effect.

A wide range of changes, being phased in up to 2009, will affect all industry professionals in some way, including designers, architects, builders, sub-contractors and developers. Building owners and managers, and members of the public involved in building work, renovation, maintenance, and real estate deals, will also be affected.

People who contact the North Shore City Council about building projects will find new application forms requiring a far greater level of detail, and that buildings requiring consent are to be completed within a period of two years. Previously there was no timeframe for the completion of building projects.

Due to the additional information required for a building consent application, local authorities now have a 20-day, not a 10-day period, in which to process applications.

"Councils are now more accountable for the development failures of buildings and therefore we require more detailed consent applications, and more scrutiny in the inspection process," explains North Shore City's building consents manager, Kelvin Goode.

"This will mean applications take longer to process, and more building inspections. Charges for processing applications, and inspection of building work, are carried out on an hourly basis, and the increased time it will take for this process will result in higher fees," says Mr Goode.

The fees have increased by 20 per cent for residential work, and 30 per cent for commercial work, and the hourly rates have increased by 10 per cent.

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Information on the Building Act 2004

The Government's Department of Building and Housing has a dedicated website for the implementation of the Act www.building.govt.nz

Reliable information about house building, renovating or maintenance for homeowners can be found at the following site www.consumerbuild.org.nz

North Shore City Council: For further information please contact the Environmental Services department by calling Actionline on 486 8600.

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