The Difference Between a Builder with a Qualification, Licence or Membership

A builder with formal qualification (aka trade-qualified)

• Some may have gone through formal education like an apprenticeship, which is a mix of practical onsite and classroom learning (e.g. BCITO); or
• Some may have a trade certificate, which focuses more on classroom-based theory and technical aspects (e.g. polytechnics or technical colleges).

A builder without formal qualification (aka school of life)

• Others may not hold any formal qualifications from an apprenticeship or trade certificate. This is because they may have started their career by working as a labourer or hammerhand in the industry and gained knowledge through practical experience.
• Some may have decades of hands-on experience and as result, they are competent builders who are highly skilled at their craft. Others may not be, so it’s important to check previous work, ask about their experience and look at reviews from other homeowners.

All building work in New Zealand, regardless of who performs it, must comply with the Building Code.

Regardless of who you hire, or whether you are doing a small repair or a major renovation, residential building work is covered by what’s called an implied warranty, which is set out in the Building Act.

Implied warranties are automatic and cover different aspects of building work, from compliance with the Building Code, to good workmanship and timely completion of building work.

This means any defective structural or weather-tightness work is covered for up to 10 years, regardless of whether you have a written contract or what the contract terms were.

There is also a defect repair period of 12 months from the date your building work is complete.

Visit Building Performance to read more about various consumer protection measures.

The Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) scheme is a New Zealand Government initiative.

It is an optional licence for builders, however, it is legally required by the Government for certain types of work.

In a nutshell: LBPs are building practitioners who have been assessed as competent to carry out building work essential to the structure or weathertightness of residential buildings.

This work is known as Restricted Building Work (RBW). A lot of major renovations will include RBW. A good rule of thumb: if the work requires a building consent, then it is RBW.

Restricted Building Work is everything that involves or affects the following areas of the home:

• Primary structures: for example, this work contributes to the resistance of vertical and horizontal loads (such as walls, foundations, floors and roofs).
• Weathertightness: any work done to the outside of the building to protect it from the weather or elements.
• Design of fire safety systems: this work involves elements intended to protect people and property from fire (e.g. escape routes) in multi-unit residential buildings.

Some examples of renovations that are restricted include:

• Structural additions, alterations, re-piling
• Plumbing and drainage where an additional sanitary fixture is created
• Installing a woodburner or air-conditioning system
• Retaining walls higher than 1.5 metres
• Fences or walls higher than 2.5 metres
• Decks, platforms or bridges more than 1.5 metres above ground level
• Sheds greater than 30 square metres in floor area
• Some earthworks.

Offences relating to licensing:

• It is an offence for someone to call themselves an LBP if they are not licensed
• It is an offence to knowingly engage an unlicensed person to carry out or supervise RBW.
• It is an offence for an unlicensed person to carry out or supervise RBW, with fines up to $50,000.

Make sure you use a Licensed Building Practitioner for Restricted Building Work.

If a tradie on Builderscrack adds an LBP licence to their profile, we take a number of steps to ensure it’s valid before allowing it to display.

1. Validation: We validate the licence by using the Licensed Building Practitioner public register
2. Permission: We get permission to display it from the licence holder via email
3. Ongoing checks: We have an ongoing check than runs in the background every one to seven days to check for any status updates.

Carpenters or builders aren’t the only ones who can become LBPs. The scheme also includes designers, brick and blocklayers, roofers, external plasterers, and site and foundations specialists.

For someone to become an LBP and remain an LBP, they need to:

• Apply for their licence: Builders undergo a robust application process, including a written application where they need to supply detailed information about themselves and their qualifications and/or experience, verbal testing by proficient assessors, and have referees’ confirm their work standard.
• Renew their licence: They need to relicense every year to ensure their licence remains active
• Remain practising: As a prerequisite for renewal, they need to be practising in an area related to their licence class
• Maintain their skills: Another prerequisite for renewal is skill maintenance through certain learning activities
• Behave professionally: They must adhere to the LBP Code of Ethics which is aligned with industry best practice.

What does hiring an LBP mean for my project?

• LBPs are responsible for issuing a Record of Work (RoW) upon completion of any Restricted Building Work
• LBPs are subject to disciplinary action by the Building Practitioners Board if they fail to meet required standards
• LBPs can face penalties, including fines and licence suspension, for substandard work.

Summary of LBP scheme:

• It is a New Zealand Government scheme
• To be an LBP, the tradie needs to be competent in their field, undergo a thorough assessment and have a good track record
• It is mandatory by law to engage a LBP if a project involves Restricted Building Work.

Tony from Home Alterations in Tauranga has been a builder for 15 years, and an LBP for 8 of them. He believes being an LBP is a point of difference.

“It shows that you do care, and that you’re looking after people’s investment.”

Recently, the Government has proposed a change that would allow granny flats under 60 square metres to be built without a consent, as long as it meets a certain criteria.

Tony says even though there may be consent exemptions, there’s an education piece needed in New Zealand around restricted work and pricing expectations if work is to be done up to code.

“Some people are always going to be after cost over quality, but I don’t get involved in those projects,” Tony says.

In New Zealand, it can be difficult to obtain and claim on insurance when work, that requires a consent, has been completed without a consent. In some situations, you may be eligible to obtain a Certificate of Acceptance from your local council, or retrospectively apply for a consent.

However, given these risks, it’s generally advisable to obtain proper consents before undertaking any Restricted Building Work.

Some builders may belong to the Registered Master Builders Association (RMBA), which is commonly known as Master Builders.

It is an optional membership for builders, and isn’t legally required by the Government.

What does it take to become a Master Builder?

For someone to become a member and remain a member, they need to have:

• A minimum of six years building experience
• Completed a carpentry apprenticeship, or a relevant tertiary building related qualification
• At least three continuous years as a builder in business and/or day-to-day management of a building business.

Or, if they aren’t trade-qualified, they must have:

• A minimum of eight years continuous building experience, comprising at least five years as a builder contractor in business, and/or day-to-day management of a building business.

They also need to provide:

• Trade references from their bank, accountant and trade merchants proving they are financially responsible and can run a business
• Examples of their current and completed work for inspection
• Once registered, they may be inspected several times a year by the RMBA mobile service team.

What does hiring a Master Builder mean for my project?

• Master Builders are are obligated to comply with the Master Builder’s Constitution and Code of Conduct
• Master Builders offer an optional third party written guarantee on new homes and renovations, which covers loss of deposit, non-completion of work, materials, workmanship and structural matters.

See more at Master Builders.

Some builders may belong to the New Zealand Certified Builders Association (NZCBA), which is commonly known as Certified Builders.

It is an optional membership for builders, and isn’t legally required by the Government.

What does it take to become a Certified Builder?

For someone to become a member and remain a member, they need to have:

• A recognised industry trade qualification in carpentry
• Complete a membership application form which includes supplying proof of their trade qualification, legible references and evidence of a clean trading history.

What does hiring a Certified Builder mean for my project?

• Certified Builders is the only association in New Zealand that requires a trade qualification as a pre-requisite for joining.
• Working with a Certified Builder means you qualify to apply for a 10 year Residential Guarantee which covers defects arising from materials and work supplied by subcontractors and suppliers.

See more at Certified Builders.

We’ve covered a lot of ground. We hope this has helped you understand what it means for a builder to have a qualification, licence or membership.

A few things to remember as a good rule of thumb:

• Anyone doing residential building work — qualified or not — must build to the standard of the Building Code
• Residential building work is covered by the Building Act’s implied warranty (10 years for structural or weather-tightness, 12 months for defect repair)
• Any work that is classed as Restricted Building Work needs to be carried out by a Licenced Building Practitioner
• Memberships to associations are optional
• If someone is a member to an association, it does not automatically qualify someone to do Restricted Building Work.

It’s always important to do your due diligence by asking your tradie about their experience and any qualifications, licences or memberships. By doing this, as well as looking at previous work and reading genuine reviews, you can ensure you’re hiring the right person for the job.

A big thank you to Tony from Home Alterations for sharing his industry insight.

Disclaimer: Please note that at the time of publishing, all information was considered correct and factual. We encourage you to check the original sources to ensure you have the most up-to-date information. Thank you.