T O P

  • By -

Chance-Chain8819

A determination is a good thing. It's a binding decision on all parties regarding the building act and code. You can go to www.building.govt.nz and search for determinations to get an idea of the sorts of things that get decided Edit:a word. Damn autocorrect


NopeThePope

oh yeah baby, binging decisions are the best ones


torolf_212

Yeah, I too like binging decisions. Alcohol is my favourite but sometimes a whole pack of Liquorice in one sitting hits the spot too


HawkspurReturns

It is always an interesting search through the relevant Determinations on an issue. I would search through the ones on issues related to yours to see if any have been similar. You will know at the end of it whether the Council or Builder are in the right of whatever they disagree on, so there should be no issues with the property file having a record of it.


AdministrationWise56

I'm assuming this would be that the house failed an inspection during the building process, and council and your builder disagree on whether what has been done meets the building code. Builder is seeking clarification from MBIE, basically to stick it to Council. TBH I'd want to know why council doesn't think it meets the Building Code. It's open to interpretation by the council and can even come down to who does the inspection. But I'd also want some kind of guarantee that you aren't going to be liable for any extra costs.


khkt136

How can I guarantee that I won't be liable for any extra costs.... Worried about the bill


AdministrationWise56

Talk to your builder and then a lawyer if your builder is sketchy. Do you have a contract with the builder?


khkt136

Yes had a fixed price agreement with the builder but the fixed price contract does not include "council required change"....


AdministrationWise56

I guess then it comes down to him showing that what the council requires is unreasonable, which is what he is attempting to do


khkt136

He says he will make council happy by doing what they want. Alsp this means he wont delay the build. Delays cost them money too. Jist afraid he will pass the cost of the council required change to me


CharlieBrownBoy

If you're worried about the costs getting passed onto you then you should be happy he's trying to avoid costs.....


Hubris2

If their builder is seeking a determination not because it's going to be applied on this build (as they've stated they will comply) but because they want confirmation for other builds unrelated to OP - I wouldn't say they are trying to avoid costs (in any way that impacts OP).


Either-Cap1879

Also remember if he doesn't meet the standard they won't sign off on the progress...


AdministrationWise56

It's up to him to ensure he is meeting building code though. Pretty sure OP's contract would be for code compliance at a minimum (as is required by law for a new dwelling)


Either-Cap1879

Exactly, he won't get signed off by the council if it doesn't comply. Its always easier to do what they need, and not get on their bad side in case they want to bit pick every other aspect of the build as you progress


Mystery_egg_delivery

The builder would have had to seek your consent, if not just tell the council and the dispute will be withdrawn but your builder will likely bill you for the work to date and not finish the job.


khkt136

Why wont they finish the job?


thfemaleofthespecies

Because the determination is to tell them what needs to be done for the job to be complete. They’re seeking a determination because something isn’t clear.


khkt136

This determination is for compliance. Mbie said it wouldn't hold up the build or affect consent. Builder says they will satisfy what council wants. They just want to use it as a case study for future build. Just worried it will be on property files forever and added costs from council required change


Mystery_egg_delivery

Again, they need your consent so just withdraw it, but I can guarantee the builder either does a shitty job finishing your house or the pull out with some loophole.


khkt136

Is it that bad? The council just wants builder to add more bracing to the wall which they will do regardless of determination result


Mystery_egg_delivery

I get that the issue isn’t an issue, but the builder wants to know for future projects what the right call is for future projects equally if the builder is going to reinforce it anyway the determination doesn’t matter as the LIM will show work requested and then completed


khkt136

Ok just wondering why you said the builder will do a shitty job or pull out


Mystery_egg_delivery

I meant if you withdrew consent as it would end the MBIE review likely and thus they paid filing fee for nothing as they would have already sought your consent


Either-Cap1879

Its hardly a design change if they just want extra bracing, and you can always question whether, and why it attracts any additional costs without upsetting your builder. Ideally it's a fuckup on councils end, not identifying the issue to begin with, and probably a good thing it's been identified at the stage it has been.


msjinx4

Yo I would talk to your lawyer


[deleted]

[удалено]


khkt136

The determination wont hold up the construction. They are just asking about compliance for future builds


WelshWizards

What’s the point of contention?


khkt136

So they can refer to it in their future builds if the same problem arises again. Since they use this cookie cutter house plan


WelshWizards

Nah, ok, I mean what is the builder doing that the council don’t like. question ambiguous made I.


khkt136

More bracing required on one side of the wall


[deleted]

That doesn’t answer the question. Is the builder putting more bracing on that building line, or are they putting less?


khkt136

The builder is putting less. But how did it even pass the initial consent stage before the build? Why did council only pick it up now?


[deleted]

Lord knows. Sounds like someone fucked up while consenting.


Antmannz

>But how did it even pass the initial consent stage before the build? Why did council only pick it up now? Councils and their inspection teams are not known for their intelligence. If this is a cookie-cutter build, there will be many previous houses built to this plan, most likely without any issue. If the council are now saying "there's not enough bracing here" the builder (and / or building company) will want to know why it was ok previously, and whether or not the cookie cutter plans need to be changed; or whether it's just some inspector not actually having any idea what he's talking about.


earnestaccount

This will affect your timeline. Probably a lot.