About us

Our vision is that: the people of New Zealand have access to quality homes and buildings that meet their needs and reflect our New Zealand environment.

We do this by taking a ‘big picture’ approach to the building and housing sector that covers many of the ways New Zealanders interact with their buildings - from design and construction to living and renting. In bringing these things together, we are responsible for:

• making sure the laws and standards that govern the building and housing sector are effective
• providing good information, advice and dispute resolution services
• working with the building and housing sector to develop better professional standards, skills and behaviours
• providing policy advice to the government.

Some of the ways we are doing this include:

• leading widespread change through the Building Act 2004 to develop a better-performing building sector
• setting standards for New Zealand buildings
• reviewing the law in response to changes in renting and apartment living
• enhancing service delivery to landlords and tenants
• developing a licensing scheme for building practitioners
• working towards resolving weathertightness issues.

To learn more about us and the services we offer, choose from the topics below:

• Our services 
• Other organisations that can help 
• Why the Department was formed 
• The legislation (law) we are responsible for and legislation under review 
• Key priorities for the next few years 
• Our strategic direction
• New Zealand's building and housing environment 
• Organisational structure
• Jobs at the Department
• Media assistance
• Contact us

The Department is responsible to the Minister for Building and Construction , Hon Shane Jones, and the Minister of Housing Hon Maryan Street.