Fast-Tracking Construction: Inside the Government’s Building Overhaul

In this bonus episode of the Property Apprentice Podcast, host and financial adviser Debbie Roberts breaks down the NZ Government’s ambitious "Going for Housing Growth" agenda—a series of reforms that could significantly reshape the building consent system and property development process across Aotearoa. 

If you've ever experienced delays or frustrations with building consents, you’ll want to hear this. 

 Here’s what we cover: 

• The major overhaul of New Zealand’s building consent system
• Easier approval and access to international building products
• Plans to allow granny flats up to 70sqm without needing full consent
• How builders, plumbers, and drainlayers may soon self-certify their own work
• New targets to complete 80% of building inspections within 3 working days
• The balance between cutting red tape and maintaining building quality and safety

Whether you're a property investor, homeowner, builder, or someone planning a project, these changes could impact your timeline, your costs, and your opportunities.

Stay informed and get ahead of the curve.

Don’t forget to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with anyone in the building or property industry.

Chapters

• 1:00 Reforming the building consent system
• 2:16 More access to overseas products
• 3:19 Granny Flats without consent
• 4:22 Builders, plumbers, and drain layers to self-certify
• 5:15 Faster Inspections...Finally!
• 6:00 Striking the right balance

Transcript

 Hey everyone. Welcome back to a new bonus episode of the Property Apprentice Podcast. I'm Debbie Roberts, owner and financial adviser at Property Apprentice. Today we're discussing a topic that affects just about anyone involved in property construction or housing in New Zealand. We are talking about the government's "Going For HousingGrowth Agenda" which is a series of big changes aimed at fixing what's often seen as a slow and costly building consent system.

And let's be honest, if you've ever tried to get building consent approved, you know, it can sometimes feel like pulling teeth. I know building reform doesn't exactly sound like an exciting issue for some people, but stay with me because what's happening behind the scenes could seriously transform the way we build homes across the country.

Having more flexible building rules, faster consent timelines, and allowing trades people to self-certify their work could be a welcome change to the current system.   📍 So we'll start off by looking at reforming the building consent system.  Back in October, 2024, the government kicked off a major overhaul of how building consents are handled. Their goal to create a more consistent and efficient system that doesn't add unnecessary time and cost to the building process.

The Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, or MBIE has spoken with the vast majority of the country's 67 building consent authorities. That's your local councils and others who handle building approvals. The feedback has been clear and recommendations are coming soon.

Among the top ideas on the table include merging some of the building consent authorities to reduce duplication, allowing more types of straightforward building work to skip the full consent process altogether, and reconsidering how liability is shared, especially between councils and insurers. Now I've gotta say that streamlining these processes is the most practical thing to do, in my opinion.

For too long, excessive red tape has slowed progress. But if we are serious about meeting housing demand, we need councils and builders working in partnership, not buried in bureaucracy.   📍 The second segment, more access to overseas products.  Here's another big one. The Building Amendment Act passed earlier this year.

Makes it easier to use overseas certified products in New Zealand construction. That means if a product like insulation, cladding, or plaster board meets approved international standards, local authorities will need to accept it without asking for more paperwork. Regulations for this are expected to be in place by October this year.

And officials estimate that over 12,000 essential building products could soon be more widely used. This is huge, especially after the supply shortages we've seen in recent years. If we can get high quality internationally certified products and faster, it not only gives builders more choice. In other words, healthier competition between the the product suppliers, but it could also bring down costs for homeowners with saved costs for the builders in the process.

  📍 Number three, granny Flats without consent.  Yes, please. In April, 2025, the government announced one of the most exciting proposals yet, in my opinion, allowing small granny flats up to 70 square meters to be built without needing building consent. There are a few catches. The design has to meet the building code.

The work must be done by licensed professionals. It's gotta be a new build, and the local council still needs to be notified before and after the build. Paired with the changes to environmental rules under the Resource Management Act, this could allow Granny Flats in more places without needing resource consent.

This one really got my attention. It makes it easier to build Granny Flats, which I think is a win-win if we take into account New Zealand's aging population, the needs of multi-generational families for more flexible living and housing shortages in some areas of the country. So we'll wait and see how that comes through Parliament when it becomes legislation, and then we'll update you with the details.

  📍 Number four, builders, plumbers, and drain layers to self-certify.  By the end of this year, the end of 2025, we'll likely see a new self-certification system rolled out for trusted builders, plumbers, and drain layers. The idea is to let these professionals sign off on their own work for simple residential designs.

Councils would still issue a basic consent, but the inspection side could be lightened up for reputable firms. This could significantly cut down backlog and speed up the building process. Electricians have been required to self-certify for years as an example, meaning that they take responsibility for the quality of their work, so it makes sense to allow other trustworthy professionals in the building industry to do this.

Also, it'll reduce the liability for the councils, which has potential to help reduce the overall costs for development as well.   📍 Number five, faster inspections.  Finally, the government is introducing targets to get 80% of building inspections done within drum roll, please. Three working days.

Councils will be expected to hit this target and their performance will be tracked and published every quarter. MBIE is also releasing practical tips to help council streamline their processes and reduce bottlenecks. This reduction in waiting times could be a game changer for reducing development holding costs Also.

Can't wait to see how this pans out. I remember one of the, one of the applications that we had in a few years ago. It took us six months to get it approved just because of the backlog at that time.   📍 Number six, striking the right balance.  At the moment, not everyone's ready to throw a party about this.

We'll wait and see what happens as this comes through. And while these change is aimed to cut red tape, we still need strong quality control measures. After all, a house is probably the biggest financial investment many Kiwis make. It's important to remember that overseas products or methods may not be compatible with our harsh sun, salty sea, and seismic activity to name a few.

And there's some lessons that we can learn from the leaky building era. On the aspect of risk and liability, councils have historically ended up footing the bill when things go wrong. Unlike some other countries, we currently don't have a nationwide building warrant scheme. However, with self-certification expanding, it might be time to revisit this idea.

A mix of private and potentially opt-in public insurance models are on the table. So where does this leave us? The government's going for housing growth agenda is rolling forward and it's bringing a wave of reforms that could reshape how we build houses in New Zealand. If all goes according to plan, we could be looking at faster builds, lower costs, and more innovation and how homes are designed and delivered.

As these new rules come into play, it's gonna be critical to make sure that we don't compromise on quality or safety. We'll be keeping a close eye on how all this develops, and we'll keep you posted. If you're in the building industry, if you're a property investor or just planning your own project, make sure you stay up to date.

Thanks for tuning in today, and if you found this episode helpful, don't forget to subscribe, leave a review and share it with someone who's working on a building project. We look forward to seeing you in our next episode. Thanks for listening.