How to avoid Record of Work woes

Recent board decision prompts review of RoW guidelines

The requirement to provide a record of work (RoW) has been in place since March 2012; however, there have been a number of complaints against LBPs around when the form is required to be completed, who it should be provided to and what LBPs’ key obligations are in respect to this record.

A recent Building Practitioners Board decision (C2-01170), which involved a situation in which one party asked another party to sign off work the other said wasn’t accurate, prompted the Board to revisit and review the RoW guidelines as part of its considerations. The questions below cover the main points from that decision.

Who must provide an RoW?
Each and every LBP must provide an RoW on the completion of Restricted Building Work (RBW) they have undertaken. Even if someone else is in charge, if you’re an LBP you must provide an RoW for your work if it is RBW.

What is an RoW for?
An RoW ensures people involved with work can be identified by the owner and the council, but it does not create any liability other than what already existed without an RoW.

On completion of RBW
Even if the overall job is not complete, if you’ve finished your work onsite or will not be going back, you still need to provide an RoW. The Board suggests that “sooner rather than later” is a good approach; even if you’re in a dispute with another party, you still have to provide an RoW.

How soon after completion of RBW?
The Board decided that you need to provide the RoW “a short time” after you complete your work.

There’s no exact rule, but “sooner rather than later” is a great approach. You don’t need to wait until someone asks you to provide one, and you can complete these forms online at the LBP portal www.lbp.govt.nz.

How much detail is required?
Enough detail is needed that if someone else picked it up, they would understand what work you did. It is also good to be able to show what work you did not do, in case a dispute were to arise.

Who must an RoW be provided to?
The law says you must provide it to the property owner and local council. If the owner has appointed an agent (such as a designer or architect), you could give it to them unless the owner asks for it directly. However, it is an LBP’s responsibility to ensure both parties receive a copy on completion of RBW.

Good reasons for not providing an RoW
There has only been one case where the Board agreed there was a good reason for not providing an RoW, and that was where the LBP’s boss was trying to get him to provide RoW for work he did not do or supervise. To read details about that decision, see decision number C1129. So, in conclusion it is pretty rare that someone has a “good excuse” and the Board has said many times that payment disputes are not good reasons.