KEY POINTS:
Talk about flushing money down the drain. A man who moved his toilet just 1.5m was charged almost $2500 for council fees and professional plans - double the cost of the bog-standard bog.
Clint, who works in the building industry, had to pay Manukau City Council about $1000 and spend another $1500 on council-approved plans. His bill included $133 for a Project Information Memorandum, $27 for document scanning, $120 for a code of compliance, $298 on professional building fees, $200 for three inspections, $102 for an authority lodgement and $71 for a separate building fee.
Clint was astounded at the cost of the red tape, which he described as "bureaucratic theft". "No wonder houses are so expensive to buy," he said. "It's just outrageous."
Carmel Penny, of the Manukau City Council Building Authority, said consent fees had risen in recent years to meet the higher standards set by the Building Act. All councils had an obligation to potential homebuyers to keep properties safe so everything had to be checked at key points of construction.
Councils across Auckland increased consent fees last year to cover the costs of new building regulations, designed to prevent another leaky homes fiasco.
But builders and developers say the regulations have gone too far.
Adrian, a designer in the building industry, is building his own house and says costs have risen by almost a third since 2000. Back then, a building consent application with Auckland City Council cost around $1500 to $2000. Adrian's current bill has already topped $10,000.
The council also charges a financial contribution to offset the effect of development. That cost Adrian around $5000 in 2000, but he recently forked out more than $30,000.
A developer building a million-dollar home in the swanky Auckland suburb of St Heliers last year spent more than $30,000 on council fees - more than the survey, engineering, geotechnical and architectural fees combined. "You can't get building consent for less than $10,000 when it used to be $1500 or $2000 a few years ago," said the man, who did not want to be named. "There's no doubt it's pushing up house prices."
In the old days, plans would be submitted to council officers, who would review the designs and visit the site before giving consent, he said.
Today, engineers and geotechnical experts review the plans, write a report for the council, which is reviewed by officers who visit the site and charge more than the engineer for their time.
If consent issues are raised, the original engineers and council staff are sent to revisit the site.
"To be honest, that is what irritates me the most," the developer said. "You wouldn't mind paying it if you felt you were getting value for money."
Master Builders chief executive Pieter Burghout said the cost of building a new house had increased by $150,000 in five years. About 25 per cent of that was down to rising material and labour costs. Burghout said half of the rest was the result of increased land prices and half council levies.
