Northland builders are pleased with Government changes to insulation and glazing requirements.
Northland builders are pleased with Government changes to insulation and glazing requirements.
Northland builders are welcoming changes to “overly rigid insulation rules” that will make it more affordable to build houses.
Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk recently announced that the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) would remove the H1 schedule to ease costs for designers, builders and homeowners.
The schedule would be replaced with more flexible alternatives, cutting about $15,000 from the cost of an average new build, he said.
Before the H1 schedule was introduced, a new house was still properly insulated with double glazing, and was “perfectly adequate and fit for purpose in Northland”, he said.
Removing it would “cut through the cost burden”.
“The barrier to building costs has never been higher, and there’s no sign of them going down any other way other than reducing the scope of the build.
“The biggest concern I had was that most of their cost assumptions were based on a neat little house on a flat, easy-access site, which is not the case in Northland.
“The majority of Northlanders want to invite the views in and, even in small cabins, people want a nice big bit of glass to look through.”
Far North builder Matt Hatchard said removing the H1 schedule would “cut through the cost burden”.
A1 Homes Northland manager Steve Hart said the changes should bring down the costs of building.
“The excessive insulation was making it more expensive, and for no good reason.
“So it’s good to hear they’re going to give us our own climate zone.
“It will bring costs down, so hopefully it’ll mean more people can build because it’s really expensive to build these days.”
Penk asked for a review of the insulation and glazing requirements after upgrades were introduced by Labour in May 2023.
The upgrades meant builders were having to increase the size of framing on new builds, while glazing standards were more than doubled.
Hart said the extent to which the latest changes would reduce costs “depended on the details”, as some joinery factories had already bought new equipment.
“It depends on how the industry takes it, because the industry is geared up to do things differently with new machinery and plants to produce thermally broken joinery.”
In May, the Northern Advocate reported that Northland builders hoped falling interest rates would encourage homeowners to build after riding out the toughest period in decades.
Figures from Stats NZ show the number of building consents for new dwellings issued in Northland in the year to March was down 31% on 2024 – the largest decrease in New Zealand.
The recent Government changes come after calls from local leaders - including Far North councillor Felicity Foy, Ngā Tai o Tokerau Māori ward councillor Hilda Halkyard-Harawira, mayor Moko Tepania, and Northland MP Grant McCallum - to ease insulation rules in the region.
Foy, who sparked the petition for the H1 building code to be reviewed, was pleased with the changes.
“It’s recognising that we have a warmer climate in the Far North, and we’re subtropical, so we should have our own climate zone.
“People can save $15,000 by having normal double glazing.
“People can always go higher, but the problem was they made the minimum so high, and the cost to build a house is so much.”
Kerikeri-based mortgage adviser Sarah Curtis said her company was managing 15 to 20 clients with new builds at any one time before “the big cost increases we saw post-Covid”.
“It’s become tougher for the affordability side of building.
“I hope the changes ... will make it more affordable for Northlanders to build, and therefore housing stock in Northland will continue to grow again.”
Penk said the schedule method would be removed by the end of the year, followed by a 12-month transition to give the sector time to adjust.
MBIE would consult about Northland having its own climate zone before any final decisions were made, he said.
Jenny Ling is a senior journalist at the Northern Advocate. She has a special interest in covering human interest stories, along with finance, roading, and animal welfare issues.
