The builder said he wasn't happy putting his name on something he hadn't seen. Photo / file
A property investor claims a builder attempted to blackmail him into paying him $10,000 so he would sign off on consent for a building.
However, the builder says he barely had anything to do with the project and wasn’t prepared to put his name to work he hadn’t personally supervised.
It was a case of he-said-he-said at the Building Practitioner’s Board hearing into the issue today with the board ultimately choosing not to progress the complaint any further.
The names of all those involved were suppressed.
The board heard arguments from both camps this morning before opting to cease its inquiry and issue a preliminary finding the builder had not committed an offence. However board chair Mel Orange noted that there “were some lessons to be learned”.
In his opening statements the property owner said he had hired two unlicenced builders to renovate an old bowling club in Masterton and turn it into two flats in 2020. Most of the work didn’t require consent but there were some aspects that did.
For the parts that needed signing-off he enlisted the help of a family friend of one of the employed carpenters who was a Licensed Building Practitioner and able to sign-off on restricted building work.
He said that he paid that builder several invoices for showing up on a few occasions to sign off work and to show the other two carpenters how to install windows and cladding.
Then on completion of the property he phoned the builder and asked him for the Code Compliance Certificate.
“He said only if I pay him a large sum of money,” he told the hearing today.
“I thought it was some sort of extortion or blackmail on his part.”
The owner said he went to the property designer for advice who recommended he schedule a meeting with the Masterton District Council and then make a complaint.
He said that he eventually had to sell the property without a certificate which heavily affected the sale price.
However, the builder said he didn’t have anything to do with the consenting process and barely knew anything about the build other than a family friend had requested some help.
“I came in as a favour and stood at the table and said I will sign this work off if A: you pay me well and B: I am part of the full process and you don’t do any restricted building work without me onsite,” he said.
He said he did turn up several times to the property and showed two un-licenced carpenters “the basics” in terms of putting in windows and making sure cladding was watertight.
However, the builder said he wasn’t prepared to put his name on a consent if he hadn’t supervised every aspect that would need it.
He said many of the building practices were done backwards and he wasn’t happy to put his licence and his name to the work.
“I was expecting calls weekly and I never got them…I was expecting to be part of the whole process,” he said.
“It seems like the builders and the owner were just going through the motions without involving me.”
He said a year-and-a-half later he received a call from the owner who asked him for sign-off.
“I said I’m not happy putting my name on it. End of story.”
“Then I lost my cool, I said something I shouldn’t have in terms of money.”
The builder said he’d built nearly 300 homes in his career and had not received a single complaint. He also told the board that he didn’t even recognise the owner today - that’s how little he had to do with the project.
Two building inspectors from the Masterton District Council gave evidence and said it had issued a Certificate of Acceptance for parts of the building instead of a Code Compliance Certificate.
They said this was because no pre-cladding inspections were done so consent had to effectively be given retrospectively.
One of the unlicensed carpenters employed to do the bulk of the work said he wasn’t aware of any consent needed at the property and said he was told by the owner there wasn’t anything in the build that required it.
The board heard evidence for two hours this morning before deciding not to continue and absolved the builder of any formal wrongdoing or charge.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
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