Building inspectors upgraded

Papakura District Council building inspectors are the first in the Auckland region to pass tougher tests of their competence in the Government's response to the leaky building crisis.

Since early last year all councils have had to become accredited and registered as building consent authorities. This called for an overhaul of building consent processes to meet quality and safety standards specified in the Building Code.

Last week, Papakura's eight inspectors passed their second independent assessment of technical competence to comply with quality assurance measures.

Papakura inspectors process about 800 consents a year, mostly for new homes.