Description

This determination arises from the decision of the authority to refuse to issue a code compliance certificate for a 12-year-old house. The refusal arose because: the authority is not satisfied that the building work complies with certain clauses of the Building Code; in particular in regard to its age; and the building work had been undertaken under the supervision of Bay Building Certifiers (the building certifier), which was duly registered as a building certifier under the former Building Act 1991, but which ceased operating as a certifier before it had issued a code compliance certificate for the house. The matter to be determined is therefore whether the authority was correct to refuse to issue a code compliance certificate. In deciding this, the following must be considered: 1-Whether the external claddings to the house (the claddings) comply with Clause B2 Durability and Clause E2 External Moisture of the Building Code. The claddings include the components of the systems (such as the fibre-cement weatherboards, the windows, the roof cladding and the flashings), as well as the way the components have been installed and work together; 2-Whether the building work complies with the remaining clauses relevant to this house; 3-Whether the building elements comply with Clause B2 Durability of the Building Code, taking into account the age of the house. It is noted that a building consent was issued in 2000 for a detached garage building on the same site. No information has been received about the status of that building consent and the owners application is limited to the house only. This determination therefore does not consider the detached garage. It is also noted that the building certifier inspected the construction of this house. The certifier ceased operating as a building certifier in July 2005, but continued operating under a different name as a contractor providing inspection services for the authority. This determination refers to both entities as the authoritys contractor.