Christchurch and Auckland builders disciplined for poor workmanship

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

A Christchurch builder has been fined after building a home for his family that lacked structural integrity, amenities and sanitation. 

Licensed building practitioner (LBP) Stefan Mortimer was ordered to pay $1500 and had his licence cancelled for what the Building Practitioners Board described as a 'cavalier attitude' towards the Building Code.

Mortimer failed to obtain building consents for two buildings he constructed on land he owned for his family to live in.

The buildings did not comply with the Building Code in terms of structural integrity, amenities or sanitation, registrar LBP Paul Hobbs said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

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'Mr Mortimer's offences are at the serious end of the scale and the board noted that the dangerous and insanitary nature of the building work was an aggravating factor in this case,' Hobbs said.

In another case, Auckland-based LBP Satish Chand was ordered to pay $2000 and had his licence cancelled.

It was the third time he had appeared before the Building Practitioners Board, and his licence had been suspended previously.

Hobbs said Chand made several building-related errors that demonstrated a lack of understanding and knowledge of the Building Code and relevant technical standards.

'Mr Chand's work failed inspection 10 times and on numerous items. Many involved serious shortcomings relating to weathertightness of the home.

'The building inspector noted the work at hand was a simple job but Mr Chand seemed to be out of his depth. Some of the work continued to fail despite remedial work attempted by Mr Chand.'

Hobbs said licensed builders had to perform 'safe, high quality building work that follows the Building Code', including the inspection process.

'This requirement wasn't met in these two cases.'