The couple had made a complaint to the board, which has the power to suspend or even cancel a Licensed Building Practitioner’s licence, about O’Brien’s conduct.
But in the recently released ruling, the board stopped short of that penalty and instead imposed a $1700 fine and censured O’Brien for a breach of the profession’s Code of Ethics.
It’s a penalty that complainant Deborah Richards told NZME was “weak”.
“To me, it’s sort of like, if this was America we could sue him and there’d be consequences,” she said.
“But there’s no consequences in this country.”
‘The old days are gone’
According to the board’s ruling, O’Brien had been contracted by the Richards for a complete home build in Auckland.
He was meant to have finished the job in March 2021 but it was not completed until April 2024, and that was with the help of the contractors.
While the decision states the home is now finished, Deborah Richards said it was still yet to meet the code and needed more work to get it over the line.
The couple were building the house to sell but lost their buyer because it took so long.
They then lost potential rent earnings after being unable to tenant it sooner.
During the build, O’Brien charged the Richards an extra $72,000 for labour and materials but kept no invoices or evidence to prove the additional costs. He told them it was due to price fluctuations.
When contractors had to be brought in, at a cost of $130,000 to the Richards, O’Brien agreed to repay them in $10,000 monthly instalments, but they have received only $21,000.
Deborah Richards said that while seeking legal advice on the matter, O’Brien’s company, Building Labour Solutions Limited, went into receivership.
According to the Companies Office, he owes creditors $188,000.
“Now he’s liquidated and will get away scot-free,” she said.
“He just gets to walk away.”
The board said its investigation into O’Brien’s breaches of the Code of Ethics was limited because much of his conduct occurred before the code became enforceable at the end of 2022.
However, the code states that a licensed builder must act in good faith, which means dealing fairly and honestly with a client and keeping one’s promises.
“The old days are gone. More is now expected of Licensed Building Practitioners,” the board said in its ruling.
“Looking at the respondent’s [O’Brien] conduct objectively, the board finds that the respondent has not acted in good faith.”
The board said O’Brien had entered into an agreement to repay the contracting costs and instead appeared to have built a two-bedroom extension on his own home.
“There was a pattern ... of disingenuous conduct in relation to financial matters,” it said.
“The respondent claimed cost fluctuations without substantiating them and potentially used funds he was not entitled to for his own benefit.”
NZME understands there is at least one other complaint about O’Brien’s conduct before the board on which it has yet to release its findings.
O’Brien did not respond to NZME’s request for comment.
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.
