A mandatory target to speed up building inspection wait times came into force this month, said Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk.

“We know that standalone residential houses typically require around 12 inspections during the building process,” Penk said.

Penl said waiting for building inspections was one of the biggest frustrations for builders.

“Delays add significant time and cost to a project, especially when work must stop and resources or people need to be reallocated.

“Wait times for inspections can drag out for a week or more, with every lost day adding around $400 to the cost of a project.”

As a result, from August 22 new regulations required Building Consent Authorities (BCAs) to complete at least 80% of building inspections within three working days of the date requested by the building owner.

“Councils will have flexibility in how they meet the target – some may take a risk-based approach by prioritising high-risk or complex work, while others may make greater use of remote inspections.”

Penk said the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) would publish quarterly wait time data for every council with the first results released in the final quarter of this year.

“Shining a light on the data will lift performance and give the public a clear view of how councils are tracking,” said Penk.

“The Government took the same approach with consent and code compliance processing times, and once those figures were reported publicly, delays dropped.

“Setting a clear timeframe for inspections will strongly encourage BCAs to cut inefficiencies and maintain delivery even as demand grows.”

With the Government also moving to reduce regulatory burdens in the building consent system, Penk said he was confident that BCAs would have more capacity to meet this new target.

“Key reforms include a voluntary self-certification scheme in development to let reputable building companies, plumbers and drainlayers sign off their own work.

“Homeowners will also be able to build a granny flat of up to 70m2 without requiring a consent, making it easier to create additional living spaces.

“At the same time, we are rebalancing liability in the system so that cowboy builders, not councils and their ratepayers, are held accountable for the cost of shoddy work they’re responsible for.

“Together, these changes will ease pressure so councils can focus on efficiency.”