After years of routine, the earthquake repaired the ground until it stopped

Opinion: Could it take too long to get council approval to build a small room?

In the case of my friend yes. It took 35 days to get the tick to the laundry.

Officials initially told him that the process would take several more weeks. And those weeks, in his case and many more, cost you, as a taxpayer, thousands of dollars.

Read more: *Real estate market craze leaves one council in Taranaki struggling to attract building approvals manager *Councils cost thousands of people to delay approval *Delays in approval bring Auckland council apology

Ian McGregor/Staff

Canterbury builders are forced to suspend jobs due to a backlog in building approval processing.

This should be a simple chapter in a complex story. Instead, it’s a stressful and frustrating episode in a long bureaucratic saga.

My friend owns a house in Christchurch and has been immersed in the ruthless hell shared by those who have bought homes with missed damage or inadequate earthquake repairs.

After years of forgetfulness, situations, a Supreme Court case, attorney’s fees, and dozens of letters and meetings, the Crown agreed to cover the significant costs of repair, plus rent and storage for the time he needed to be off the property.

Work began in February, but more damage to the sink was discovered, and it had to be rebuilt.

It’s the same footprint – the only difference being the changing of the toilet.

32 days after the application was submitted, the process hadn’t even started, despite the board’s demand that $1,400 be paid immediately.

Thirty-three days later, an indifferent council worker informed him that she “doesn’t expect to be processed for a number of weeks”. Another said it took 40 days “before they even opened the file”. (On Friday, after weeks of wrangling, approval was finally granted.)

But during the delay, work on the construction site stopped.

Plumbers and tilers would have to come back, and there was more rent to pay while waiting – all at an increased cost (to taxpayers) via the earthquake commission.

Ian McGregor/Staff

It takes 30.3 days to get approval for a building in Christchurch: the law says it must be 20.

Christchurch City Council says that this year the average time to process a housing approval was 30.3 working days, and in June it was 35.3 days.

In neighboring Selwyn, it took 33 days to get a rubber stamp. Tauranga says the average processing time was 36 days in June.

(Other boards are doing well; in Napier the wait was 12 business days, and in Wellington 9.4 for apartment houses.)

The law is clear: councils have 20 working days to say yes or no. But there is no penalty for being late – and no incentive to comply. There are also no reports on processing times, so we can’t even shy away from them committing. (The Dunedin City Council didn’t bother to answer Stuff’s question.)

And they certainly don’t lose out on fees.

Rosa Woods/Staff

Two years ago, then-Construction Secretary Jenny Salsa announced “the biggest changes to building code in 15 years”.

In the midst of the housing crisis, homeowners, builders and developers are all helpless in the face of this frustrating stalemate. They are already battling issues of supply of materials, skills and labor shortages.

True, we’re seeing a building boom: New home approvals soared past the record in the 1970s to reach an all-time high, with 41,028 issued in the year to March 30. And in Canterbury, the number of new homes signed is up 12 per cent from last year.

Yes, it’s a complex and dangerous business, with overlapping compliance issues under the Building Code and the Resource Management Act (which will soon be dumped). Nobody wants to live in a shoddy, dangerous or unsanitary building. We want to be able to get out in case of a fire.

But the slow resolution of red tape isn’t a new problem — National’s Nick Smith raised the issue again in Parliament in 2006.

A decade later, then-auditor-general Lynne Provost found most applications in Auckland “pending” pending more information.

Since 2017, councils have begun to blame a shortage of building control officers for the delays.

And in 2019, the builders spoke out, claiming the requests had become cumbersome and “encyclopedic” as much as the detail required.

Ian McGregor/Staff

More than a decade after the Canterbury earthquake, the homes are still being repaired.

Last year, the government introduced a set of new rules, including eliminating the need for low-risk work, such as sleeping, huts or cars. It was supposed to reduce the councils’ workload by about 9,000 applications.

Then-Construction Secretary Jenny Salsa called it “the biggest changes to building code in 15 years”.

It’s clearly not big enough for homeowners and dealers who still face months of delays.

What Are The Main Benefits Of Comparing Car Insurance Quotes Online

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / June 24, 2020, / Compare-autoinsurance.Org has launched a new blog post that presents the main benefits of comparing multiple car insurance quotes. For more info and free online quotes, please visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/the-advantages-of-comparing-prices-with-car-insurance-quotes-online/ The modern society has numerous technological advantages. One important advantage is the speed at which information is sent and received. With the help of the internet, the shopping habits of many persons have drastically changed. The car insurance industry hasn't remained untouched by these changes. On the internet, drivers can compare insurance prices and find out which sellers have the best offers. View photos The advantages of comparing online car insurance quotes are the following: Online quotes can be obtained from anywhere and at any time. Unlike physical insurance agencies, websites don't have a specific schedule and they are available at any time. Drivers that have busy working schedules, can compare quotes from anywhere and at any time, even at midnight. Multiple choices. Almost all insurance providers, no matter if they are well-known brands or just local insurers, have an online presence. Online quotes will allow policyholders the chance to discover multiple insurance companies and check their prices. Drivers are no longer required to get quotes from just a few known insurance companies. Also, local and regional insurers can provide lower insurance rates for the same services. Accurate insurance estimates. Online quotes can only be accurate if the customers provide accurate and real info about their car models and driving history. Lying about past driving incidents can make the price estimates to be lower, but when dealing with an insurance company lying to them is useless. Usually, insurance companies will do research about a potential customer before granting him coverage. Online quotes can be sorted easily. Although drivers are recommended to not choose a policy just based on its price, drivers can easily sort quotes by insurance price. Using brokerage websites will allow drivers to get quotes from multiple insurers, thus making the comparison faster and easier. For additional info, money-saving tips, and free car insurance quotes, visit https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ Compare-autoinsurance.Org is an online provider of life, home, health, and auto insurance quotes. This website is unique because it does not simply stick to one kind of insurance provider, but brings the clients the best deals from many different online insurance carriers. In this way, clients have access to offers from multiple carriers all in one place: this website. On this site, customers have access to quotes for insurance plans from various agencies, such as local or nationwide agencies, brand names insurance companies, etc. "Online quotes can easily help drivers obtain better car insurance deals. All they have to do is to complete an online form with accurate and real info, then compare prices", said Russell Rabichev, Marketing Director of Internet Marketing Company. CONTACT: Company Name: Internet Marketing CompanyPerson for contact Name: Gurgu CPhone Number: (818) 359-3898Email: [email protected]: https://compare-autoinsurance.Org/ SOURCE: Compare-autoinsurance.Org View source version on accesswire.Com:https://www.Accesswire.Com/595055/What-Are-The-Main-Benefits-Of-Comparing-Car-Insurance-Quotes-Online View photos