The government’s relentless quest to cut red tape and overhaul building regulations continues apace with a spate of new initiatives announced recently. Here’s a roundup of what’s coming down the pipeline and what it means for builders:
Sheds, garages, sleepouts and offices
Boundary regulations are about to be eased for secondary buildings on residential sites, including sheds, garages, sleepouts and small offices.
Single storey structures with a floor plan up to 10m² can be built right up to the boundary of a property, and buildings from 10–30m² can be sited 1 metre from a boundary.
The current rules require these types of structures to be the same distance from the boundary as they are high.
The announcement was made with a sense of theatre by David Seymour at a small suburban property in Auckland with a garden shed wrapped in red tape.
“We’ve heard the frustration about this regulation through the Red Tape Tipline. Section sizes are shrinking, and the cost of living is rising. Forcing people to put sheds in the middle of their lawn or pay for a consent to store tools doesn’t make sense.”
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said the legislative changes should be in force by the end of the year.
He said that the rule did not apply for granny flats because of the fire risks associated with kitchen facilities.
Constructing a secondary building up to 30m² on a residential in most cases does not require a building consent following amendments to the Building Act in 2020.
Building code changes on hold for three years
Another change the Government is pursuing is a no-change policy for the Building Code for three years, claiming the pause will provide more certainty for designers and builders.
Until now, the Building Code has been subject to rolling reviews which are conducted on an ad hoc basis. Changes are often made with little forward notice. The new proposal is to introduce a 3-year cycle for building code reviews to avoid the disruption caused by the current system.
Announcing the change, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk commented that the building sector has faced significant disruption over the past few years with the pandemic, supply chain challenges and a boom-bust cycle making things unpredictable.
“Builders, designers and developers need a clear runway to plan ahead and invest with confidence, and ad hoc changes to Building Code requirements makes that difficult.”
The first regular cycle of Building Code system updates will take place in 2028.
BRANZ approval waived for some imported building products
The Government is clearing the way to allow a wider range of imported building products to be used in New Zealand, without the requirement for BRANZ appraisal or certification.
The Overseas Building Products, Standards, and Certification Schemes Amendment Bill recognises certain international specifications and certifications that are consistent with New Zealand Building Code standards.
It means that thousands of imported building products, including plasterboard, cladding, insulation, doors and windows, will be widely accepted by building consent authorities.
It enables recognition of overseas standards and standards certification schemes, removing the need for designers, builders or BCAs to verify standards.
A new Building Code document called ‘Building Product Specifications’ is being created that lists all assessed building product specifications considered equivalent to those currently used, allowing builders and designers to easily identify those that comply with the Building Code.
Initial work to identify equivalent standards will look at primary building elements such as internal linings, external cladding, windows, plumbing products, and insulation. Regulations are expected to be developed by October this year.
Liability reforms and a more consistent building consent system
Heralded as the Biggest Building Consent System Reform in Decades, the government announced in August that it would change the rules around who pays for remedial work when buildings are faulty, and would allow councils around the country to combine their consenting work.
Both measures are designed to improve efficiency in the delivery of new homes and infrastructure, cut costs for builders and ratepayers, and boost productivity in the construction sector.
“We must remove blockages to speed up the delivery of new homes and infrastructure,” said Minister of Building and Construction Chris Penk, adding that “New Zealand’s slow consenting system is delaying projects and driving up costs, making the average standalone house here 50% more expensive to build than in Australia.”
Everyone to pay their fair share for faulty buildings
When it comes to paying for remedial work when buildings are faulty, it’s often the local council that ends up carrying the can because developers, builders, designers and subtrades don’t have the financial resources to chip in, or their companies are no longer operating or are insolvent.
Under the current system – called joint and several liability – councils can be held liable for defects once they sign off on building consents or inspections which means ratepayers are left footing the bill if other parties involved can’t pay.
Minister Penk says this approach will be replaced with a new one, called proportionate liability.
“Under this new model, each party will only be responsible for the share of work they carried out. Building owners will be protected if things go wrong, and we’re exploring options such as requiring professional indemnity insurance and home warranties, similar to arrangements in Australia.”
Commenting on the announcement, legal specialist Nathan Speir of law firm Meredith Connell said the move would be welcomed by councils, and that similar schemes that have been in place in Australia had by and large been successful.
“With proportionate liability across the Tasman, you are not seeing a scenario we are seeing here, which is that one party is carrying a disproportionate level of the remediation cost. It’s certainly a shift that is worth making because the results are clear.
Ratepayers have funded a lot of remediation projects around the country. With some of the bigger apartment claims in Auckland and other areas, you are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars to settle these claims.”
A step towards a national building consenting system?
The second major reform will allow councils to voluntarily consolidate their Building Consent Authority functions.
“It’s inefficient that builders, designers, and homeowners must navigate 66 different interpretations of the Building Code. Builders can be rejected by one council for paperwork accepted by a neighbour simply because each BCA applies the rules differently,” Minister Penk said.
The Government plans to introduce a Bill to Parliament in early 2026 to implement these reforms. Regulatory changes will support proportionate liability and BCA consolidation, including:
- Optional home warranties for certain projects
- Professional indemnity insurance requirements
- Allowing Territorial Authorities to transfer BCA functions to another accredited BCA
- Removing duplication and standardising regulations to incentivise collaboration