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Building Act 2004

Building - Requirements for building work - Restricted building work must be carried out or supervised by licensed building practitioners

85: Offences relating to carrying out or supervising restricted building work

You could also call this:

“You can get in trouble if you do special building work without the right licence or supervision.”

If you’re not a licensed building practitioner, you can’t do restricted building work unless someone who is licensed to do that kind of work is watching over you. If you do, you’re breaking the law.

If you are a licensed building practitioner, you’re also breaking the law if you do restricted building work that you’re not licensed for, or if you supervise restricted building work that you’re not licensed to do or supervise.

These rules don’t apply to you if you’re doing the work on your own home and the owner-builder exemption covers the kind of restricted building work you’re doing.

If you break these rules, you might have to pay a fine of up to $50,000 if you’re found guilty in court.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM306835.

Topics:
Housing and property > Home safety and repairs
Work and jobs > Job licenses
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84: Licensed building practitioner must carry out or supervise restricted building work, or

“Only special workers with special licenses can do or watch over certain types of building work.”

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86: Offence to engage another person to carry out or supervise restricted building work if person is not licensed building practitioner, or

“It's against the law to hire someone who isn't properly licensed to do or oversee special building jobs.”

Part 2 Building
Requirements for building work: Restricted building work must be carried out or supervised by licensed building practitioners

85Offences relating to carrying out or supervising restricted building work

  1. A person who is not a licensed building practitioner commits an offence if he or she carries out restricted building work while not supervised by a licensed building practitioner who is licensed to carry out or supervise the carrying out of restricted building work of that kind.

  2. A person who is a licensed building practitioner commits an offence if he or she—

  3. carries out restricted building work and is not licensed to carry out restricted building work of that kind; or
    1. supervises restricted building work and is not licensed to carry out or supervise the carrying out of restricted building work of that kind.

      1. Subsection (1) and (2)(a) do not apply to a person to whom the owner-builder exemption applies in respect of the restricted building work in question.

      2. A person who commits an offence under this section is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000.

      Notes
      • Section 85: replaced, on , by section 23 of the Building Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 23).
      • Section 85(4): amended, on , by section 27 of the Building (Building Products and Methods, Modular Components, and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2021 (2021 No 21).
      • Section 85(4): amended, on , by section 9 of the Building (Earthquake-prone Buildings) Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 22).