Upholding the LBP standard

The Building Practitioners Board continues to suspend and fine LBPs who are not up to standard

The Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) scheme aims to ensure that people in the building industry are competent and accountable, so that homes and buildings are designed and built right the first time.

To maintain the credibility of the scheme, those who are licensed must uphold that standard. The Building Practitioners Board (BPB) provides a forum to hear complaints about the conduct and quality of building work carried out by LBPs to ensure that happens.

“Having the BPB deal with complaints in a timely and professional manner is essential to instilling and maintaining homeowners’ confidence in the brand,” says LBP registrar Paul Hobbs. “The LBP scheme is still fairly young, compared to other occupational licensing schemes operating in New Zealand, and this forum is important to help it develop and mature.”

The Board recently disciplined two LBPs for not building in accordance with consent and having a general lack of understanding and knowledge.

Shamsher Ali of Auckland appeared before the BPB earlier this year defending a complaint relating to his conduct as an LBP. The Board found that Mr Ali held a cavalier attitude towards Building Code compliance matters and was not accepting of his legal obligation to build in accordance with the approved building consent. As was pointed out in the BPB’s decision, the process of issuing a building consent provides for independent inspection and verification of the consented building work to ensure it meets the performance requirements of the Building Code. The building consent process provides a level of protection for owners and the public; those working outside the rules should take heed of this decision.

“LBPs are personally responsible for keeping up to date with regulatory and technical changes relevant to their area of practice

Mr Ali’s licence was suspended for a period of 12 months and he was ordered to pay costs of $1500.

In a separate case, the Board found that Fangning Ai of Wellington made a number of building-related errors that were disproportionate to what would be expected of an LBP holding a Site 1 Licence. The errors demonstrated a general lack of understanding and knowledge of the regulatory system, the Building Code and applicable technical standards. Given these factors, the Board considered it appropriate to suspend Mr Ai’s licence for a period of six months. Mr Ai was also ordered to pay costs of $1000.

Legal obligation

LBPs have a legal obligation to follow plans and specifications that form part of a building consent application. Any significant deviation from the consented documentation should be dealt with through a formal amendment or a minor variation to the consent. LBPs are also personally responsible for keeping up to date with regulatory and technical changes relevant to their area of practice.

Main image: LBPs have a legal obligation to follow plans and specifications that form part of a building consent application