Government Pushes for Faster Building Consents Amid Housing Shortage

New Data Shows Improved Compliance, but Delays Still Costing Over $1 Billion Annually.

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk has announced improvements in the processing of building consents, with 92% of applications now meeting the statutory 20-day timeframe. The progress comes after the Government introduced mandatory quarterly reporting by councils earlier this year.

"In the midst of a housing shortage, every step in the building process needs scrutiny to ensure efficiency and get Kiwi families into quality, affordable homes faster," Mr. Penk said.

Under the Building Act, councils are required to process building consent applications within 20 working days. However, builders have long reported extended delays due to inefficiencies in the system.

"To drive accountability, I directed the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) to publish quarterly data from Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) on consent processing times. Remarkably, until this initiative, no consistent nationwide data on consent timeframes existed," Mr. Penk explained.

The latest data shows an increase in compliance, up from 88% in early 2024 to 92% this quarter. Notably, 42 of the 69 BCAs have improved their performance.

Hidden Delays and Their Costs

Despite these improvements, the "stop-the-clock" practice, where BCAs pause the 20-day statutory timeframe to request additional information, continues to extend actual processing times significantly.

"In Auckland, consents are processed in an average of nearly 19 days, but with requests for further information, this jumps to an average of 55 days. In Tauranga, the timeframe increases from nearly 21 days to 40 days," Mr. Penk revealed.

A recent report estimates that delays caused by requests for information cost over $1 billion annually and account for half a million lost working days in the building sector.

"This level of inefficiency is unacceptable, and while incomplete applications often necessitate genuine requests for information, it's clear we need to address the root causes of these delays," Mr. Penk said.

Government's Next Steps

To tackle these issues, Mr. Penk has directed officials to investigate why designers frequently submit incomplete applications and to explore solutions to streamline the process.

"The Government is committed to overhauling the building consent system to improve productivity and reduce unnecessary costs. While the publication of consent data is having a positive impact, there's still significant work to be done," Mr. Penk said.

Additional Measures

Beyond improving consent timeframes, the Government is pursuing other reforms to accelerate homebuilding and increase affordability. These include:

• Simplifying compliance processes for small and standard builds.
• Providing better training and resources for BCAs to ensure consistency.
• Exploring digital solutions to streamline application submissions and approvals.
• Working with industry stakeholders to improve the quality of design submissions.

"This is an ambitious plan, but it's one we need to achieve if we are serious about addressing New Zealand's housing shortage," Mr. Penk concluded.

For more information on the Government's initiatives, visit Building and Construction NZ.