LBP Skills Maintenance, December 2024 — for all LBPs | The Building Practitioners Board considers complaints against LBPs. To assist the Board, the Registrar of LBPs delegates the task to the Investigations Team within Occupational Regulation, MBIE. The Registrar will provide a report to the Board for consideration. If the Board decide to hold a hearing and an LBP has breached a ground for discipline, the complaint is upheld and the Board will then decide on an appropriate penalty.

The key challenge will be designing systems for both the recognition of overseas standards and product certification schemes where, for many products, the expectations of performance are universal, but there are some unique situations in NZ that may mean some products are not appropriate.

New and amended regulations came into force on 30 September 2024 to better clarify a ‘minor variation’ when it comes to amending a building consent, and a ‘minor customisation’ when it comes to a MultiProof. 

Building consent authorities (BCAs) need to be ‘satisfied on reasonable grounds’ that building work will meet the requirements of the Building Code before they can issue the building consent. This is not always as simple as comparing the plans with the performance requirements of Building Code.

It is estimated that up to 900 homes could be brought to market early, due to the new RDU which aims to de-risk large developments by underwriting construction of residential developments of 30+ homes. 

New industry research using Certified Builders house designs has shown that the cost of the new H1 building regulations is far lower than has been reported.

LBP Skills Maintenance, August 2024 — for all LBPs | The Government has announced there will be a public consultation in the coming months on a range of options to increase the uptake of remote inspections.

LBP Skills Maintenance, August 2024 — for all LBPs | Undertaking supervision is an important role and it is important all LBPs consider the practical and legal implications of performing this function.

Whilst the media-grabbing headlines of our Architect and Builder Sentiment Reports released in August were of falling demand, increased capacity and expected headwinds for the next 12 months, I wanted to move past these top-level soundbites and share five observations that struck me while pouring through the results of these two reports.

LBP Skills Maintenance, June 2024 — for all LBP's | When conflicts arise between parties involved in a building project, finding the right resolution is crucial. As licensed building practitioners (LBPs) you encounter disputes that require careful handling. This article covers some methods for resolving these issues.