It hopes the authority will speed up construction and increase housing supply. Photo: Supplied/ Unsplash - Josh Olalde
The government says the country's first privately-owned building consent authority will speed up construction and increase housing supply.
The company, Building Consent Approvals, launched on Wednesday morning in Selwyn - the fastest growing district in the country.
Building Consent Approvals (BCA) chairperson Tony Sewell said the company will focus on the "low-hanging fruit" of consents for low-risk residential housing by group home builders.
Consents will be issued in 10 working days or less for eligible projects, he said.
A report from the Auditor-General last year found just three of 67 councils were meeting the 20 day statutory time frame to process consents.
The cost of using BCA was sitting "slightly above some councils and below others", Sewell said, but it was the promise of a swift turnaround that sets it apart.
BCA received approval in 2024 to issue consents, and gained registration from the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment earlier this year.
Chairperson Tony Sewell said it had been a "bit of a journey" to get to this stage.
"The [Building] Act said in 2004 you could do it. We started pushing the button last year, did a lot of research and work, we got the first level of approval in October. The registration process with MBIE [Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment] was a tough haul but it needed to be."
BCA aims to complete about a third of all building inspections remotely, issuing Code of Compliance certificates and consents for low-risk replicated (pre-approved) designs within two working days.
Working with the low-risk residential bulk house group builders will free up councils to cover more complex consent applications, he said.
"Some people might say we're going for the low-hanging fruit - that is a fact. We see that as our opportunity and there's plenty of it, so lets start with what we can do."
The process to become an authority required the company to meet strict accreditation and registration requirements. It will have to follow the same regulations as council authorities, which means the risk to the consumer is "consistent" whether their consent is processed by the company or a council.
The company will be subject to three monthly audits, at least initially.
"I fully support that," Sewell said.
"We think that part of the process is really important to give the industry the confidence that we're right on top if it."
The company will have little tolerance for incorrect or incomplete paperwork holding up timeframes.
"Your documentation will be correct if you want us to process it properly, and we will help you to make it correct."
"I think there's zero tolerance for the people who are constantly blaming the consenting authority - its not always their fault. The designers need to get it right and the builders need to get it right when they're doing the work."
BCA would have an advantage over councils in the ability to refuse to deal with companies that consistently failed to produce the correct documentation, but the intention was to work with and educate the sector, Sewell said.
The company aimed to complete 30 percent of building inspectors remotely.
The swiftly growing Selwyn District had been required to innovate to speed up its own processes over the years, mayor Sam Broughton said.
"Fifteen years ago we developed the first digital building platform for councils, its now used right around the country," as well as methods of speeding up housing development consenting, he said.
The nature of the change may mean council processing times increase, Broughton said.
"That's one of the things people might see - if many of the simple consents move away from councils and we've only got the complex ones, the average processing time will start to increase.
"If we lose lots of the two or three day processes and are left with all the 21 or 22 day processes, the average will lift."
Minister for the South Island James Meager said the move will make it easier and cheaper to build, ultimately making housing more affordable.
The consenting system hadn't been working as well as it could, even though many councils had worked hard to improve, Meager said.
The newly registered private company will bring "a little bit of competitive tension" to the councils to make sure they improve, he said.
He was confident the oversight and auditing in place meant the consents would be of a high standard.
Minister for the South Island James Meager said the move will make it easier and cheaper to build. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Construction industry consultant Mike Blackburn said an independent consent authority is good news for the industry.
"Councils have obviously been under pressure over the last couple of years with the number of building consents and the time it take to process applications."
In 2020, some councils were taking 60 or 70 days to process consents, and were forced to outsourcing some aspects of the work to other councils or companies.
"There's only so many trained compliance officers at any one time."
He said BCA would also be able to offer a uniform approach regardless of where the application was made.
"One of the biggest frustrations I hear from builders is the inconsistency across various councils when they're applying for consents and inspections.
Being able to deal with one company across multiple areas is going to be a real advantage.
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