In a real boon for the Southland building sector, the Government is implementing an opt-in self-certification scheme to allow approved building firms, plumbers and drainlayers to sign off on their own work.

Whether you’re building a new home, or renovating the one you’ve got, paperwork and red tape can cause frustrating delays for both contractors and clients.

These delays add extra costs and stress to local builds and can impact on economic growth in the Southland region.

That’s why this new scheme is so positive and provides a practical and cost-effective solution to a local problem.

The new scheme will allow trusted builders to self-certify their own work, alongside a mandatory target to tackle building inspection wait times.

I see this as a common-sense change, with electricians already able to self-certify their work.

We will also allow reputable building companies, that deliver large numbers of near-identical homes, to proceed without the need for Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) to approve building consents and carry out inspections.

We will also require consent authorities, like councils, to complete 80 percent of building inspections within three working days.

Under our changes, we expect to see around 3,000 homes around the country, per year, built without delays from approvals and inspections – focusing Building Consent Authorities on high-risk builds instead of simple homes.

There will be two self-certification pathways available under the scheme:

• An opt-in self-certification scheme for house builders carrying out work on an entire simple residential dwelling (including design and construction).
• An opt-in self-certification scheme for plumbers and drainlayers carrying out work on a simple residential dwelling.

The Government is introducing this scheme to unleash economic growth, by making it cheaper and easier to build.

The legislation, to enable the self-certification scheme, will be introduced by the end of 2025 while the inspection targets will come into force later this year.

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