National's housing spokesman Phil Heatley

National's housing spokesman Phil Heatley

The new Government appears likely to keep real estate agent laws introduced by the previous regime but is aiming to make big changes to other property rules.

Help for people with leaking homes and streamlining building consent processes are part of National's policy and a big upgrade of the state housing stock is planned, as well as allowing state tenants to buy their houses.

Phil Heatley, National's housing spokesman who was re-elected MP for Whangarei at the weekend, said this week his party did not oppose the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and had no plans to overturn it.

The law, opposed by the Real Estate Institute in a 300-plus page submission, was introduced to the House by former Associate Justice Minister Clayton Cosgrove and passed under urgency on September 4.

"We think it's gone through the process and National had an input into that process. It's not something that we'll be revisiting any time soon," said Heatley, referring to National having been members on the select committee.

But the Building Act and Resource Management Act would be re-examined, he said.

"The RMA was designed to protect the environment but it's created a massive bureaucracy that can create costs."

Nick Smith, National's spokesman on building and construction, is responsible for this area.

National has promised to amend the Building Act to reduce costs, establish a building ombudsman to handle building consent gripes, use the building levy to update building standards and reform the licensed building practitioner regime.

The ombudsman could discount or waive consent fees if statutory timeframes are breached. National regards the new builder licensing regime - another Clayton Cosgrove law now being phased in - as excessively complicated and it wants industry organisations to develop an easier system.

National wants the Institute of Architects, Certified Builders, the Registered Master Builders Federation and Institute of Professional Engineers to develop "a simplified system which recognises existing qualifications".

Heatley said housing affordability could be improved via tax relief and "getting interest rates under control".

National's "Gateway" housing policy - free sections to first-home buyers for the first 10 years - was a crucial platform but Heatley said an inventory of Crown-owned land would also be high on the list of priorities.