Government Pushes New Self-Certification for Building

Claudette Hauiti Chris Penk | Government Pushes New Self-Certification for Building

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The Government has announced a new scheme to speed up house building, letting trusted builders self-certify their work.

Building Minister Chris Penk says the scheme, announced in Te Tai Tokerau, will only apply to simple homes and builders who meet strict standards.

Penk says it won’t lower building quality — instead, it will shift responsibility from councils to builders and encourage better workmanship.

“There’s no lowering of the standards. All we’re doing is finding a way that will be more efficient to determine that the standards have been met and actually increasing the accountability, liability, or responsibility of those doing the work, as compared to the council’s being on the hook for it all,” says Penk.

The new rules aim to make the building process faster and more efficient.

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