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A builder racked up a string of “basic” errors and ignored council inspectors’ warnings that the block of units he was constructing had weather tightness issues.
Frederic Lee’s inability to fix the mistakes made on the series of units earned him a complaint to the Building Practitioner’s Board, aswell as a threat of legal action from his client.
Lee failed more inspections than he passed - 30 failed versus 26 passed - with the board saying that the number that began to snowball on the complex set of eight units.
“The Board considers that licensed building practitioners should aim to get building work right the first time and not rely on the Building Consent Authority (BCA) to identify compliance failings and to assist them in getting it right,” the board said in its ruling.
“Moreover, when compliance failings are identified, the Board would expect prompt action to be taken and that they would not repeat the same failings.”
However, according to the decision Lee did not rectify the same issues identified by council inspectors time and time again.
“The extent of the non-compliance reached the point where the Respondent was threatened with legal action…” the board said.
“Notwithstanding the threat, he did not take action, the contract for his services was cancelled, and a complaint was made to the Board.”
The location of the build wasn’t specified in the board’s decision but a list of the failings were identified as significant weather tightness issues with the units, frames that were out plumb and gaps in the roof in cladding that could let in vermin and water.
However, despite council inspectors identifying these issues Lee pressed on with the next stage of the build.
“Please pay close attention to all aspects of this job and ask customer to remedy anything you notice that is not listed above as he has gone ahead against our instructions,” one council report reads.
Builder Frederic Lee had his licence cancelled by the Building Practitioner’s Board. Photo / File
A further six pages of notes from council inspectors note similar issues with the block of units.
Lee could not be contacted for this article but the companies office notes that his business, ALV Group Limited, went into receivership in August 2020.
The liquidator’s report notes that the company suffered poor cashflow because of reduced margins on its contracts. Then, following a sale of a property in Howick it was unable to pay IRD $269,000 in GST owed from the sale.
That same report lists a further $200,000 the company owed to other creditors.
Because of the sheer number of errors on the build and Lee’s apparent unwillingness to fix them before moving on to the next part of the project the board said it had no option but to cancel his licence on the grounds of negligence.
Lee did not engage in the hearing at all.
“The conduct shows a pattern of non-compliance and a reluctance or unwillingness to deal with the issue raised,” the board’s decision reads.
“The conduct was not inadvertence, oversight or error. It was sustained, and whilst it may not have been deliberate, the Respondent was, given the number and seriousness of the failed inspections, on notice and aware of what was occurring and what was required.”
The board said it was natural for a project to potentially fail aspects of council inspections.
“What is not expected is a high number of failed inspections or inspections resulting in failed inspections or them failing as a result of basic or fundamental building work failures.”
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.
