Building Compliance Obligations in NZ: An Introduction

Building Compliance Obligations in NZ: An Introduction

Building compliance is essential to ensure buildings are safe, healthy, and durable for everyone occupying them. If you’re a property manager or an owner of a New Zealand building, not only do you need to facilitate property management services, but you also need to ensure that your building meets the health and safety requirements contained in The Building Act 2004. We discuss what you need to know about building compliance obligations in New Zealand.

What is The Building Act 2004?

The Building Act covers all building work in New Zealand, including construction, demolition, and renovation, as well as the New Zealand Building Code. Its primary goal is to ensure that people can use buildings safely without risking their health.

The New Zealand Building Act ensures that all buildings are kept to a nationwide standard, meeting the health and safety requirements for the building’s occupants. The regulations under the act focus on sanitation, durability, energy efficiency, fire safety, moisture control, and building accessibility.

The Act also requires all building owners to hold a current Building Warrant of Fitness or BWOF for any safety system installations. The life safety systems known as “Specified Systems” are parts of the building infrastructure that should they fail to fulfil their purpose, could endanger the health and safety of the occupants within the building. Examples are sprinkler systems, escalators, lifts, and smoke alarms. A local council will administer the requirements of the Act on behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment.

Building Warrant of Fitness Owner Obligations

Under The Building Act 2004, all buildings with Specified Systems call building owners to:

⦁ Have a current copy of their compliance schedule.
⦁ Have BWOF documents ready for renewal every 12 months.
⦁ Ensure all maintenance, inspections, and reporting of Specified Systems are carried out timely and as scheduled.
⦁ Engage appropriate Independent Qualified Persons for any inspection, maintenance, repairs, and reporting procedures.
⦁ Ensure the Independent Qualified Persons supply a Form 12A certificate verifying that the inspection, maintenance, and reporting procedures for each Specified System have been fully complied with.
⦁ Keep detailed records of all building inspections, maintenance, and repairs undertaken over the last 24 months.
⦁ Publicly display a current signed Building Warrant of Fitness Certificate.
⦁ Ensure the Compliance Schedule and other supporting documents are readily available for inspection by authorised persons.
⦁ Get professional engineering advice, and act on it in the event of an earthquake if there are concerns about building safety.
⦁ Provide a copy of the renewed Building WoF and supporting documentation to the local council every 12 months.

Ensure building compliance with Datatask

The council reviews Building WoF, compliance schedules, and form 12As to ensure that your building complies with the Building Act and its regulations. They also keep copies of these documents for the life of the building. Your Building Warrant of Fitness requires renewal every year and starts two months out from the expiry date. It’s crucial that you prioritise processing these documents to ensure your building remains compliant with the NZ law.

If you are a building owner who needs expert advice on building compliance or assistance with obtaining requirements or renewing your Building Warrant of Fitness, get in touch with us today. Datatask can help you with the renewal process of your BWOF. Our team can also give you professional advice on the regulations that apply to you and assist you in what you should do to ensure you remain compliant.

HYPERLINKS

property management services https://www.datatask.nz/services/
BWOF https://www.datatask.nz/
get in touch with us today https://www.datatask.nz/contact/