On Sunday 24 May 2015, the Ministry of Business, Innovation
& Employment released a "Guide to Tolerances, Materials
and Workmanship in New Residential Construction" (Guide). A
copy can be accessed
here.
Both contractors and their clients should take particular note
of this Guide. It is part of the new Building Act consumer
protections which came into force on 1 January 2015.
As part of those Building Act reforms, stronger obligations are
placed on building contractors to fix any 'defects'
notified by the client within a 12 month period after completion of
building work. The difference between this and previous Building
Act obligations is that (in addition to the timeframe) the onus of
proof is on the contractor to show that the building work is not
defective, rather than being on the client to prove a defect.
