- Complaint number: CB26040
- LBP number: BP133668
- Region: Auckland
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Licence class:
Carpentry
- Decision date: 5 April 2023
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Penalty:
318(1)f Pay fine
318(4) Pay costs
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Disciplinary grounds:
317(1) da Failed to supply certificate / record of work
317(1) b Negligent or incompetent work - not upheld
317(1) d Work not compliant with building consent - not upheld
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Summary:
The homeowners made a complaint about the workmanship on their new 2-storey dwelling. A Council site inspection report set out the instances of unsatisfactory building work and building work which was not in accordance with the building consent. After determining the Respondent’s role on this project, the question for the Board was whether the Respondent’s supervision of the building work was negligent or incompetent. This required a determination of 2 issues – had the Respondent departed from an acceptable standard, and, if so, was that departure serious enough to warrant a disciplinary finding.
The further issue before the Board was whether the work the Respondent supervised had been carried out in a manner contrary to the building consent. To determine this issue, the Board has only to find that building work departed from the building consent and does not have to consider if that departure was deliberate or negligent. However, the seriousness of the conduct under investigation does have to be taken into account.
In addition, the Respondent did not provide a record of work to the Complainant or the Territorial Authority. The Respondent ceased work on the project before its completion, but he did not consider that his restricted building work was complete as he expected to return to the site. There were also outstanding money issues. The question for the Board was whether the Respondent had failed to provide a record of work on the completion of restricted building work. There were 2 issues that had to be determined. Firstly, was the Respondent’s restricted building work complete, and, secondly, if it was, did the non-payment of his invoices constitute a good reason not to provide the records of work.
The Board investigated the issues and decided that the Respondent had been negligent in his supervision of the building work and that the building work was not in accordance with the building consent. The Board also found that the Respondent’s restricted building work was complete and that non-payment was not a good reason to withhold his record of work.
The Board decided that the Respondent would be fined $3,000 and ordered to pay costs of $2,500.
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