Action to be taken over building scare

By SIMON COLLINS

Local bodies may be required to inspect buildings again, following a report that many recent buildings are structurally unsound.

Commerce Minister Lianne Dalziel says she is open to suggestion that local councils should be required to inspect certain kinds of buildings, such as multi-storey structures or buildings that are in earthquake-risk locations.

She said a report by Auckland engineer John Scarry that the bulk of multi-storey buildings erected in New Zealand since 1994 were severe seismic risks "has to be taken seriously".

The Institution of Professional Engineers (Ipenz) has appointed a group to investigate Mr Scarry's allegations and has invited him to speak at its annual conference in Hamilton on Monday.

Local bodies have not been required to inspect all new buildings since the Building Act came into force in 1993.

Instead, they have been able to accept "producer statements" by builders and other professionals, and statements from private "building certifiers" appointed by developers that buildings have been built in line with the building code.

The president of the Structural Engineering Society, Dr Barry Davidson, said he was preparing a submission to the Government's Building Act review suggesting that councils should be required to inspect one in every 10 new buildings.