Rules shake-up leaves builder unimpressed

Adrie van Arendonk

A new taskforce is set to rid the country of "pedantic and loopy" consent regulations - but a Rotorua builder warns throwing out the rules could see more people end up in court.

Local Government Minister Paula Bennett has announced a new Rules Reduction Taskforce would work in with local government to ease property owner and council frustration.

"We've seen rules and regulations brought in over decades that were well intentioned but end up being confusing, onerous and costly while failing to deliver any real benefit for the property owner or the wider public," Mrs Bennett said.

Building and trade experts would also be brought in as consultants on the taskforce.

"Anyone doing building work knows just how frustrating and costly the bureaucracy can get," Mrs Bennett said.

"We want to hear from property owners, builders, tradespeople and businesses on rules and regulations that are crying out for sensible change."

However, Adrie van Arendonk of Arendonk Builders said rules and regulations were necessary to protect the industry, especially in the wake of the Christchurch earthquakes.

"You need rules. Maybe they could cut out a few, but which ones are they going to cut out? It's not that we like all those rules, but it's for the protection of everybody."

Builders and the council had to be careful of exposing themselves to litigation.

"That's the environment we're in now. If something goes wrong it goes to the courts and people start suing each other."

Even so, some rules still proved costly and unnecessary, Mr van Arendonk said.

"We've submitted permits and then all of a sudden they change the building codes and your permit becomes invalid and you have to reapply."

The Taskforce would be taking public submissions and a website would be set up where people could share examples of ridiculous rules they had come up against.

"We have rules dictating all sorts of weird and wonderful things from signage over cake stalls to where your shower curtains need to be positioned," Mrs Bennett said.

One property owner who was trying to replace a 130-year-old fence faced buying or leasing the land it was on because it was on a scenic reserve.

"While there's always a degree of rationale behind these rules, the Taskforce will be charged with identifying what should stay and what should go so people can get on with the job of building, renovating or event planning without have to wade through a morass of unnecessary rules," Mrs Bennett said.

The Taskforce will be up and running in October.