New Zealand Unveils Major Building Reforms to Cut Costs and Delays

A new fast-track consent pathway will allow residential projects that include solar power generation or other sustainable features to receive building consent within 10 working days.

New Zealand is preparing for its biggest overhaul of building regulations in two decades after the Building Amendment Bill cleared its first reading in Parliament. The proposed reforms are designed to reduce construction costs, speed up building approvals and create a fairer system for everyone involved in delivering new homes and buildings.

Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk said the changes are intended to modernise the country's building system while supporting industry growth and giving New Zealanders better access to affordable, energy-efficient and resilient housing. The reforms also seek to encourage innovation without weakening protections for homeowners.

Stronger safeguards for homeowners

A major feature of the bill is the replacement of the current joint and several liability system with proportionate liability. Under the new approach, each party involved in a construction project will be responsible only for the share of work they carried out, instead of one party potentially bearing the full financial burden for defects caused by others.

To strengthen consumer protection, the bill introduces mandatory professional indemnity insurance for building designers and engineers who contribute to building designs. It also requires home warranties for most new homes and major renovations valued at $100,000 or more. New offences will also be created to discourage non-compliance and improve accountability across the construction sector.

The Government believes these measures will provide homeowners with stronger financial protection while creating a more balanced and sustainable liability framework for councils, builders and design professionals.

Faster approvals and support for innovation

The legislation also includes several changes intended to make the building process quicker and more efficient. Building Consent Authorities will be able to voluntarily consolidate functions to improve consistency across New Zealand, while processing times for Project Information Memorandums will be reduced from 20 working days to 10.

A new fast-track consent pathway will allow residential projects that include solar power generation or other sustainable features to receive building consent within 10 working days. The bill also expands building consent exemptions for granny flats by allowing prefabricated dwellings to be constructed before a Project Information Memorandum is issued.

The Government is also proposing to modernise building research funding by combining the Building Research Levy with the Building Levy and introducing a more competitive funding model. According to Minister Penk, the reforms reflect extensive consultation with the construction industry, insurers, warranty providers and local government, with the broader goal of creating a building sector that can deliver more homes faster while maintaining high standards.