62 building consents in possible fraud engineering sign-offs

62 Waipā building consents have been caught up in allegedly fraudulent engineering sign-offs. Photo / Supplied

Around 62 Waipā building consents have been caught up in allegedly fraudulent engineering sign-offs.

Waipā District Council is one of more than 40 councils impacted by the alleged actions of Jonathan Beau Hall, of Kodiak Consulting Ltd. Jonathan has allegedly completed and signed producer statements using the identities of chartered engineers without their permission.

Engineering New Zealand and the New Zealand Police are investigating.

Producer statements are used in the building consent application process. They provide a professional opinion confirming work has been done following the Building Code and are used to assist with issuing building consents and code compliance certificates.

Waipā District Council staff have now reviewed all potentially compromised projects involving Jonathan and have identified 62 impacted building consents.

Of those, 20 have been issued a building consent but not a Code of Compliance Certificate. The remaining 42 building consents have been issued with both a building consent and a Code of Compliance Certificate. These numbers could change if more information becomes available.

Waipā District Council‘s group manager of growth and regulatory services Wayne Allan said council staff would be contacting all property owners directly over the coming days.

“Our focus is on supporting those impacted as much and as quickly as we can. We have a great deal of sympathy for those caught up in this issue.”