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The building and construction minister is criticising councils for "stopping the clock" on building consent applications, after data showed 64 percent were paused so authorities could request further information.
Annual data published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment shows a total of 146,655 applications were processed, with a median processing time of nine days.
Building consent authorities (usually local or district councils) have a statutory obligation to process consents within 20 working days of receipt.
However, after receiving an application, an authority can make a Request for Further Information (RFI) if essential information is missing. This 'stops the clock' on processing work until the response is received.
The MBIE data showed an estimated 64.3 percent of applications had RFIs. Of those applications, the median time it took applicants to respond was 11.6 working days.
In terms of time from start to finish, applications with an RFI had a median elapsed time of 25 working days.
Building and construction minister Chris Penk said there was a "staggering cost" to the delays.
"Time is money for our tradies, and officials estimate a 12 working day delay because of an RFI could cost around $4000 per dwelling," he said.
"Every unnecessary delay affects real people - builders, businesses, and families waiting for their homes to be completed. That's why this government is pushing ahead with the most significant building consent reforms in a generation."
MBIE's analysis suggested applications with higher building complexity categories were likely to have RFIs, spend longer responding in the RFI stage, and took longer overall to progress.
4 comments
We built
Posted on 22-03-2025 17:16 | By FRANKS
in 2015/16. The builder told us there would be a council query on day 20. They were correct and it was a very minor issue that delayed the permit for another 10 days. This was TCC and we have seen nothing to reflect that they are more efficient now.
Copy and Paste
Posted on 23-03-2025 08:54 | By TBone
I am not defending the acts of council processing, but a lot of issues could be resolved if the well-paid Architect did his job properly in the first place.
As a builder for over 25 years, I have seen the amount information now required to lodge plans for consent explode since the leaky home era.
Yes, Architects have a mountain of information to collate for plan submissions (Builders have to read through it all), a lot of material is copy and pasted and some incorrectly. Shame
The Master
Posted on 23-03-2025 20:23 | By Ian Stevenson
@ FRANKS
Yes, I heard of one property that has 200+ RFI's issued, mostly petty things, the rest were asking for what was already included in the initial BC application. This scenario is a typical path at TCC.
Way back in 2016 BDO reported that the average processing time was around 3-4 months, well outside the 20 day, mandatory, statute dictated timeframe... yet this scenario is little better since.
The cost of housing is very high, in fact ridiculously so.
Hmmm
Posted on 24-03-2025 11:19 | By Let's get real
I have witnessed both sides of the fence over the years. In my opinion, since the introduction of C.A.D. things have got much worse on both sides of the debate between architects and council. When you add in the incompetent builders that are emerging from poor training regimes, particularly those that can't read a set of plans accurately, or understand basic construction requirements, then it's no wonder that we have problems and delays.
I have a bit of a concern with these "minor" issues becoming compounded over the years, as more and more reliance is placed on C.A.D. programmes and inexperienced salespeople designing a property. Salespeople, not architects.
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