Big fine for suspended LBP

A builder who was convicted of misleading Auckland Council has been fined $10,160.61 for carrying out Restricted Building Work (RBW) while his Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP) licence was suspended

After an investigation by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) Occupational Regulation team, 57-year-old builder Richard Dodd was found to be in breach of Section 85 of the Building Act 2004 (carrying out RBW while unlicensed), Section 369 of the Building Act 2004 (making a false or misleading oral statement) and Section 369 of the Building Act 2004 (making a false or misleading written statement).

MBIE said that Dodd carried out a renovation project while his LBP license was suspended, and misled Auckland Council during their inspection of the building by stating he was an LBP. Dodd also issued a Record of Work stating he held an LBP Carpentry licence upon completion of the project.

Kaitaia District Court fined Dodd $3,279.80 for carrying out RBW while unlicensed and ordered him to pay reparation costs of $4,880.81. Additionally, he was ordered to pay $1,000 for emotional harm to the homeowner, and received a $1,000 fine for providing false and/or misleading oral information and a $1,000 fine for providing false and/or misleading written information.

Minimum standards to meet

For the good of the scheme, LBPs need to be held to high standards and any misdemeanours punished, said Duncan Connor, National Manager, Occupational Regulation from MBIE.

“By being licensed, LBPs are able to promote their professional skills and behaviour in the building industry and show the public and potential clients that they meet a minimum standard of competency in their licensed area,” said Connor.

“MBIE will not hesitate to prosecute individuals that breach the Act, and practitioners seeking to carry out RBW should do their due diligence and make sure they are properly licensed before commencing the work.”

Holding a licence allows LBPs to carry out or supervise RBW, and LBPs must keep their licence up to date while carrying out RBW. Doing so without a licence can incur a fine of up to $20,000.

Connor urged anyone engaging a builder to look them up on the LBP Public Register, which lists the names of all current LBPs. He says it can provide certainty to consumers that they are hiring properly trained professionals to carry out or supervise RBW.

Not the first time

The case follows that of Matthew Biddle, who had his Design Class 1 licence cancelled shortly after it was re-issued in March 2023. Biddle’s case is complex. In December 2018, he had his licence cancelled for 18 months after a complaint was brought against him in June 2017. In 2021, he submitted an LBP application, which was declined in 2022 before being granted after a review in March 2023.

Following the March 2023 review, in which he was granted a licence, a complaint was brought by MBIE and his licence was cancelled for a second time.

MBIE’s complaint was based on him being convicted in February 2022 of two charges of using forged documents under section 257(1) of the Crimes Act 1961. Biddle, who pled guilty, was sentenced by the Tauranga District Court to six months home detention and ordered him to pay $7,564 to two victims for using forged documents – carrying out work as an LBP while suspended.

“He submitted several Certificates of Work to the Western Bay of Plenty District Council and Tauranga City Council using the name and details of another LBP designer. This LBP did not supervise his work, had no knowledge of the work undertaken, and did not authorise Biddle to use their details,” stated a news item on the LBP website.

Even though the conviction took place prior to Biddle re-obtaining his Design Class 1 licence, the Board heard MBIE’s complaint and ruled there was an “unacceptable risk of future offending” before cancelling his licence for a second time.

You can read the full report HERE.