You don’t know what you don’t know

In your experience, do homeowners know when they need to use a Licensed Building Practitioner, and their own obligations around that?

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Firm: Bailey Builders

Principal: Roy Bailey

Location: Wanaka and surrounding districts 

Staff: 7

I would say that, in general, people don’t understand it very well at all.

I guess with the Restricted Building Work scheme being relatively new, it will probably take time for people to get their heads around it.

I suppose the other thing to consider is that for most clients, it’s the first time they’ve built a house so it’s the first time they’ve ever had to deal with an LBP and the scheme; so it’s probably hard for them to really understand it until they’ve gone through the process.

That said, it’s not something we have to spend a lot of time explaining. We just deal with it as it comes up.

Obviously we have to sort out our own Record of Work, and during the build we also collect them off the licensed subcontractors we use.

What I’ve found is that, rightly or wrongly, we’re doing a lot of the work when it comes to collecting that documentation.

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Firm: Hoogervorst Architectural Builders

Principal: Roland Hoogervorst 

Location: Christchurch

Staff: 20

I’ve found that most of my clients aren’t just happy with an LBP managing a project, they want one on site doing the actual building work, which means that I’m spending a lot more time on
the tools.

Currently my guys are going through the LBP qualification process, which will give us more flexibility in that area.

We work on high-end builds and I find most of my clients are quite switched on, but I still have to educate them around some aspects of the RBW requirements.

I also think that because of the earthquakes and having had to go through the repair processes, a lot of people in Christchurch have a good general knowledge of building laws.

Concerns about leaky buildings are also common now, which is part of the fallout of that issue.

I’ve found that my clients will ask a lot of questions and they want to know that all the necessary paperwork is in order.

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Firm: Walkers Builders Ltd

Principal: Brendon Walker 

Location: Alexandra

Staff: 5

We mostly do full builds, so we normally deal with all of that for the client and it’s not something they have to worry about.

Generally, I don’t think it’s very well known. Some people are aware and it certainly makes life a lot easier when they are!

It might just be because its relatively new, but I also think the information that’s available to homeowners about building regulations and their obligations could be made more accessible. Unless they really go looking for it, it’s not something they’re likely to know about.

I know that councils always inform applicants in their consent documents about what work is considered RBW where appropriate, but I think it could be a good idea to include a list in disclosure documents.

That way people would have access to the information right at the start of the process.

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Email your answer with your full name, contact phone number, company name, number of full-time staff and the city or town in which you’re based to editor@pmundersconstruction.co.nz. All responses must be submitted by 25 Jan 2017. The answers to this question will be published in Under Construction March 2017.