Our Strategies
Strategy: Regulations and standards that deliver better quality and enable innovation in building and housing practices
What we will do
We will establish effective and clearly understood regulations and standards that will:
- provide clear information on the performance requirements of buildings
- provide clearly defined rights and obligations
- ensure, when complied with, that buildings are well built
- provide effective means to resolve disputes
- encourage building and housing stakeholders to communicate clearly and effectively about expectations and requirements
- enable and support innovation in building systems that meet quality standards.
Why we will do it
Intermediate Outcome
Buildings and homes that perform well in the New Zealand environment.
The New Zealand regulatory regime sets rules and standards necessary for safe and healthy buildings for the benefit of all users. The Building Act 2004 regulates the quality of buildings and building work, and operates alongside other regulations that set minimum standards across the building and housing sector.
Other areas of regulation also impact on the quality of buildings. These include occupational licensing and regulation covering professions and trades, and regulation of the residential tenancies market and unit titles. This regulation ensures buildings are built and maintained to defined standards of quality and property rights and obligations are clearly defined.
The building regulatory regime is a performance-based system designed to ensure building work is safe and healthy, offers appropriate amenity and is sustainable. It is a systems approach, combining a set of tools to bring about change in the performance of the building and housing sector. The building controls regime depends on a strong and effective relationship between the Department of Building and Housing, which sets the frameworks, rules and standards and building consent authorities who administer these rules and standards. Developing better and clearer rules and standards will ensure the building and housing sector can readily understand and apply them.
Building controls are used to ensure buildings are safe and healthy places to live and work in. In New Zealand, these controls are largely set out in a two-part framework.
- The Building Act 2004 sets out the law on building work. This applies to the construction of new buildings and to maintaining, altering and demolishing existing buildings.
- The Building Regulations contain the New Zealand Building Code and the rules about building consents and inspections. The Building Code sets out performance standards that all building work must meet, and covers aspects such as fire safety, access, moisture control, durability, services and facilities.
This approach will lead to better outcomes for all parties, including:
- buildings being built properly first time
- less costly rework (in terms of time and resources)
- fewer disputes and simpler and lower-cost dispute resolution processes
- capable and accountable building practitioners
- a well-functioning rental housing market.
How we will do it
By working with the sector, stakeholders and other parts of government, we will create standards that are robust, clear and fair. This includes groups that represent:
- consumers
- professionals (eg, architects, designers, engineers)
- the building and construction sector
- local and central government agencies.
We will investigate and resolve complaints about building consent authorities and accreditation bodies, and issue determinations.
We will work with local and central government agencies and representative groups from the sector to identify ways to improve the quality of the existing building stock.
What we will deliver
Over the next year we will progress a comprehensive review (as required by the Building Act 2004) of the New Zealand Building Code, the first since it was established in 1992.
The purpose of the review is to ensure that the Building Code:
- meets the requirements of the Building Act 2004
- is stated in sufficient detail to provide clear guidance on the performance standards that buildings must meet to ensure compliance
- supports innovation in building systems that meet quality standards.
Changes to the Building Code will promote energy efficiency, sustainable development and the positive effect of buildings on health.
Consultation on the scope and content of the Building Code will be completed in 2006/07. Preparation of detailed recommendations will then be under way to enable the final report to be provided to the Minister for Building Issuesin November 2007.
The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 regulates the rental housing market by defining the rights and obligations of landlords and tenants. Balancing the social needs of tenants for housing with business needs of landlords is a critical issue. The housing environment has changed a lot in the 20 years since the Act came into effect. In particular, the operation of the private rental sector is now more important to economic and social outcomes of New Zealanders than it was in 1986.
The Unit Titles Act 1972 was created to cover a type of property ownership known as unit title. Developments of this type usually have more than one owner, and are typically apartment blocks, townhouses, office blocks and industrial or retail buildings. Each owner owns a defined part of the building and also shares ownership of common property, such as lifts or drive-ways, with other unit owners.
Since 1972 the number of mult-unit homes has increased substantially and become an important part of New Zealand's housing. Issues have emerged that need to be addressed to ensure the law governing these properties is relevant and effective.
Other key building regulatory activities include:
- implementing the accreditation regime for building consent authorities and assisting them to prepare for registration in November 2007
- developing a product certification system that provides greater assurance around building product performance
- implementing a dam safety regime to provide greater assurance about public and property safety
- investigating and resolving complaints relating to the application of the Building Code and issuing determinations.
Other key activities include:
- progressing legislative proposals for updating the Residential Tenancies Act 1986
- working with the Ministry of Justice and Land Information New Zealand to progress legislative proposals for updating the Unit Titles Act 1972
- advising on an effective framework for resolving building-related disputes
- reviewing the adequacy of existing standards for housing
- investigating mandatory home warranty insurance for new domestic dwellings, and for significant repairs and renovations
- investigating professional indemnity insurance to accompany the new occupational licensing regime
- monitoring and reporting on the performance of the building and housing sector, including input to developing statistics to measure the quality of the existing housing stock
- actively participating in wider government programmes of work to improve the design and quality of the built environment, including the Urban Design Protocol, the Auckland Growth Strategy and the Sustainable Cities Programme.
How our outputs contribute to the strategy
| Output Expense |
Output |
| Building Act 2004 Implementation |
Building Code ReviewEstablish Regulatory SchemesSector Advice and Guidance |
| Building Regulation and Control |
Setting the Standards for BuildingMonitor Building Consent AuthoritiesBuilding and Construction Monitoring, Research and EvaluationResolve Complaints and Disputes |
| Occupational Licensing |
Develop and Implement Building Practitioner Licensing Scheme |
| Sector and Regulatory Policy |
Sector and Regulatory Policy Advice |