Councils and licensing frequently asked questions
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- Don’t councils already check that building work is being done properly?
- Do councils have a role in licensing?
1. Don’t councils already check that building work is being done properly?
Yes – and the Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) Scheme doesn’t change this. Council Building Consent Authority (BCA) inspectors will still inspect all building work listed on building consents.
However, relying on inspections alone is not enough. Good quality buildings are built when competent licensed building practitioners do the right thing from the start, rather than relying on the building inspector to tell them what to do or waiting to see if they get caught out.
An expected outcome of the Building Act review announced in August 2009 is that the building consent and inspection process will be cheaper and faster for licensed building practitioners. For example, when licensing is fully implemented the number of inspections for a standard house is expected to reduce from the current 12-15 down to four. This will cut inspection costs. It will also cut building time by up to four weeks, with potential savings of thousands of dollars in finance/holding costs.
Over time licensing will raise the quality of building work.
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2. Do councils have a role in licensing?
Council BCAs issue building consents and inspect for Building Code compliance. The LBP Scheme does not diminish or change the importance of this role and BCAs will continue to do this work.
When restricted building work takes effect in March 2012, BCAs will also ensure that:
- plans and specifications have been submitted by licensed designers
- the names of the licensed building practitioners involved in restricted building work on a project have been recorded on their file.
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