Building Amendment Bill introduced to Parliament

The Bill is now before Parliament and the proposed changes include:

Fairer risk allocation

A key change is the introduction of proportionate liability. This means that in cases of defective building work, parties are responsible for the share of costs that reflects their contribution.

To support this change and to help strengthen protections for homeowners:

• Mandatory home warranties will be introduced for new houses, multi-unit residential buildings up to ten metres and renovations $100,000 or above that involve restricted building work and require a building consent. Warranty providers must register with MBIE and offer cover for at least 1-year for defects, and 10 years for structural defect.
• Professional indemnity insurance will be mandatory for designers such as architects and engineers, strengthening accountability and helping ensure they can meet claims if issues arise.

These changes aim to strike the right balance between fairness across the industry and strong consumer protection.

Faster consenting for eligible homes and PIM changes

The Bill introduces a new fast-track building consenting pathway, with decisions by Building Consent Authorities being made in 10 working days for eligible solar equipped and sustainable homes.

This pathway will apply to residential buildings that include solar electricity systems or meet key sustainability criteria such as:

• energy efficiency
• reduced carbon footprint
• improved water efficiency
• increased climate resilience

These changes will help to promote uptake of sustainable building practices and support lower long-term energy costs for households.

Processing times for all Project Information Memorandum (PIM) applications will also be reduced from 20 to 10 working days, helping projects move forward more quickly.

The reforms also expand construction options for building granny flats. Offsite-built units will be able to be constructed before a project information memorandum (PIM) is issued, making it easier for a wider range onsite and offsite construction methods.

This will give homeowners more flexibility and help support an increase in housing supply.

Supporting councils and improving consistency

To improve consistency and efficiency across the country, the Bill makes it easier for councils to work together or combine their Building Consent Authority (BCA) services.

This change will help reduce duplication, streamline decision-making, and deliver more consistent outcomes for builders and homeowners.

Modernising building research

The Bill introduces changes to modernise how building research is funded and governed, replacing a system that has been in place for more than 50 years.

A new approach will:

• repeal outdated legislation and integrate the Building Research Levy into a single, more streamlined system under the Building Act
• reduce duplication and provide for building research to be funded through an integrated building levy
• enable building research funding to be awarded through processes overseen by MBIE, which will include the use of a contestable funding mechanism
• ring-fence research funding to ensure long-term certainty and stability to the building research sector
• require the development of a new research strategy and a contestable research fund and the establishment of an investment advisory panel that will advise on the allocation of contestable funding to help guide future research investment decisions for the benefit of the sector
• improve scrutiny, oversight and accountability for how research funds are invested
• support a wider range of research organisations and providers.

The Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ) will continue to play an important role in the system and remain an independent organisation. MBIE will work with BRANZ on funding arrangements to support continuity for existing activities, including research funding rounds, while a new approach is established and to provide certainty about ongoing funding.

These changes will help to ensure the construction sector continues to innovate and meet New Zealand’s future needs.

Supporting growth and delivery

These reforms reflect extensive engagement with industry, councils, and consumer groups, and are designed to be practical and ready to implement.

Together, they will support a more productive building sector that can deliver the homes, and infrastructure New Zealand needs.

Industry and stakeholders will have the opportunity to give feedback on the proposed changes during the Bill’s select committee stage.

Learn more about building performance priority work programmes:

Priority work programmes

More information on the Bill’s progress can be found here:

Building Amendment Bill – New Zealand Parliament