'Building rules to blame not councils'

Councillor Ann Court says councils are forced to follow ever-stricter building and safety regulations set by the government.

A Far North District councillor is hitting back at government claims that councils are to blame for soaring house costs and poverty.

Under pressure over the rising cost of housing, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English said this week it was councils' fault because their planning processes stopped affordable homes being built. He added the resulting shortage of low-cost homes was one of the main drivers of inequality and poverty.

However, Ann Court said councils were forced to follow ever-stricter building and safety regulations set by the government. Those regulations were adding thousands to the cost of new homes and prompting some builders to leave the industry in frustration. One of many new rules was that builders now had to have every electrical tool and lead re-certified every three months.

Ms Court said her builder husband had 40 tools and leads which cost $30 each to certify four times a year, a total of $4800 a year. That cost had to be passed on to customers, driving up the cost of building projects.

The government now required all new buildings to be earthquake-proof, regardless of where they were built, and any land previously used for industry or horticulture had to undergo costly soil tests before it could be built on. Other new regulations were well-intentioned, such as green technology, earthquake-grade steel and double-glazing requirements, but drove up new home prices.

"But what really annoys me are the stupid (health and safety) laws that are driving up the cost of everything," Ms Court said.

A costly traffic management plan was required any time building supplies were delivered to a site. That made sense in central Auckland but not in rural Northland.

"Mr English needs to get out of his ivory tower and look at reality on the ground. It's really frustrating builders. They're leaving in droves because of compliance costs and regulations," she said.

"Everyone blames the council, but last time I checked councils don't write the Building Act or the RMA but are legally obliged to implement both."

Councils, and therefore ratepayers, had also been hit with part of the cost of fixing leaky buildings, although the materials which had caused the problems had been approved by the government.

NZ First leader Winston Peters said Mr English's comments showed how out of touch he was. Kiwis living in poverty were "a million miles away" from anyone planning to build a home, he said.