Value in written contract

New Zealand homeowners are too laid-back when it comes to written contracts for building work and assume being licensed means builders have a higher standard of training, skills and experience than is required under the Licensed Building Practitioners scheme.

These are some of the results of a survey of 1000 Kiwis carried out by New Zealand Certified Builders (NZCB).

More than half (51 per cent) of homeowners who had used a builder in the past 10 years didn't have a written contract for work done by their last builder. Of the work done without a written contract, 22 per cent was for work worth more than $30,000.

NZCB's chief executive, Grant Florence, says the survey highlighted the importance of consumer protection measures, such as the change last year to make written contracts mandatory for building work over $30,000.

He cautioned awareness still needs to be raised in the industry and among consumers about the mandatory requirement for contracts and the importance of written contracts. "The survey found that 46 per cent of homeowners think it's the builder's responsibility if something goes wrong with a build or renovation. The reality is, if there's no written contract in place, this makes it difficult to resolve any issues. Having a contract is important for spelling out duties and obligations in relation to building projects."

The organisation provides template contracts for its members to use, and has introduced a mandatory building guarantee, which applies to every new home build or home building alteration over $30,000 that is undertaken by an NZCB member.

The survey also found that 90 per cent of homeowners thought having a formal building trade qualification was a requirement for a builder to be a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP).

"Trade qualification isn't a requirement under the LBP scheme, and in terms of professional development, while the LBP Skills Maintenance Scheme has been strengthened, in our view it doesn't go far enough," says Florence. He says all builders are required to do is read LBP News, identify two examples of on-the-job learning over the two-year licensing cycle and undertake some elective activities to earn points, to maintain their licence.

"Like the homeowners who responded to our survey, we've always thought the LBP scheme should require trade qualification, as well as a more stringent skills training pathway. This would further lift the standards of training and skills across the industry, which is in the best interests of consumers," says Florence.