New legislation has increased Building Warrant of Fitness (BWOF) fines and expanded the responsibilities of Independent Qualified Persons (IQPs).

The Amendment Bill (effective 26 November 2024) closes a regulatory gap by clarifying that IQP's must only issue a certificate for a specified system if the inspection, maintenance, and reporting procedures stated in the compliance schedule have been fully complied with during the previous 12 months.

The Bill makes it an offence to issue a certificate when a specified system has not met these requirements. IQP's who falsely issue a certificate of compliance can be fined up to $50,000 (for an individual) or $150,000 (for a body corporate).

BWOF infringement fees for failing to supply a territorial authority with a BWOF and failing to display a BWOF have increased from $250 to $1,000.

You can read more detail about this on the New Zealand Legislation website.

It's also important to note that, as previously advised, we will be shortening the timeframe to issue a Notice to Fix for failing to provide us with a BWOF.