The Government is being urged to act swiftly as non-compliant and fraudulently certified windows and doors flood the market, prompting fears of another leaky building disaster.
The Window and Glass Association has written to Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk, warning that manipulated compliance documents are being used to pass off substandard imported products as legitimate.
In the letter shared with legacy media, the association has identified about 20 Auckland suppliers selling non-compliant products and says weak enforcement allows widespread rule-breaking that risks both safety and financial loss for homeowners.
Industry leaders say fake stickers and certificates make fraud difficult to detect, and that deregulation through the new Overseas Building Products Bill is worsening the problem. Penk confirmed MBIE is investigating manufacturers and importers, and will meet with the association to discuss tougher enforcement.
Image credit: Hans
Looks like the horse has already bolted
I’m getting some windows put in
Which are costing an arm and a leg
I sent the installer this NZDT article
Asking if all the fixtures being used were above board and compliant
Which may turn out hopefully not needing a good insurance policy
Further to above anybody in the same position can ask for a written guarantee that the products being installed are legitimate and of the utmost integrity
If no money has changed hands You are under no legal contractual obligations
And can cancel
If you have issues you can always get a building surveyor in. Not cheap but the alternative can be worse if things go wrong.
The construction industry in NZ is, in my opinion, akin to the wild west. The problem too, is litigation is expensive and it always falls on the property owner, most of the time. You usually need a senior partner in a firm for large, expensive problems, a building surveyor and quantity surveyor, the costs just multiply. The only good thing I can see of late, is Small Claims upper limit being raised to $60K.
Wild Wild West
I took my window installer to the BL board. The windows were fine, but too small for the gaps in the walls. Builder was using silicone and attempting to bully me – woman in her 60’s. The BLB stated : it is not expected that a builder will complete a job, and then wait for the customer to point out the faults. He was fined – windows out and returned to window company [ wellington ] ; new company carried out lovely, compliant job. i.e. Original job – product fine : lazy, Kiwi work. The builder knew the windows were too small; the window coy did not want to replace as they would have lost money – so no word to me, and the job went ahead. The builder stated he had done several homes with the same issue. The owners will find out years down the track – after warranty expires ! Would not recommend that coy.
I have found the problem to be incompetent [ knowingly installing windows that were too small ] to be the problem; rather than the actual product.
It is over-regulated. The government regulations caused the last disaster of the leaky buildings saga. They forced the carpenters to use the faulty materials. Bring back NZ without government interference.
Lets face it EVERY THING THE GOVT GETS INVOLVED IN IS A DISASTER stop meddling in stuff you do not know you can not legislate common sense licensing for trades is a failure.
Let tradesmen work they are so bogged down in regs they cant think we didn’t have these problems in the eighties.