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The Building Act
Government introduced a Building Bill to Parliament in 2003 whose objectives include helping people use buildings safely and without endangering their health. This Bill looks forward to buildings providing an appropriate level of amenity for people who use them; people who use a building being able to escape from the building if it is on fire; and buildings being constructed and used in ways that promote sustainable development.
The Bill also provides for regulating construction work, establishing a licensing regime for building practitioners, and setting performance standards for buildings.
Building sustainably
Other options being considered included providing for “best practice” guidelines for territorial authorities, building consent authorities, and building practitioners to help them meet their obligations under the Bill, requiring accreditation and audits of building consent authorities, and licensing building practitioners.
The new law, designed to replace the Building Act 1991 , would specify some different functions, duties, and powers of territorial authorities.
A territorial authority must perform the functions of a building consent authority within its district in relation to any application for a building consent made to it and any building consent granted under the application.
A territorial authority may make arrangements for one or more other building consent authorities to perform the functions of a building consent authority on its behalf.
A territorial authority must apply for, and gain, accreditation as a building consent authority and must maintain that accreditation at all times.
Building inspection
The three Wairarapa district councils are working together to meet the higher standards of the proposed 2004 Building Act. Parliament has considered it necessary to improve building standards since the leaky homes crisis affected some recently built houses. The Masterton, Carterton and South Wairarapa District Councils work together to provide building inspection services. Each council has to manage building consent services so that houses are built to comply with national and local building standards.
Building inspectors need to go on site to see that the building owners
and their tradespeople have got it right – and to achieve that,
building inspectors need relevant skills and experience. The three Wairarapa
councils have recognised merit in having their inspectors work both in
and outside the individual councils that employ them.