This information is intended to help building owners and managers understand their responsibilities under the Building Act 2004. This is particularly so if you are the owner of a commercial, industrial or communal building.
The Building Act 2004 also outlines the provisions for Territorial Authorities (Western Bay of Plenty District Council) in enforcing the provisions to protect public health and safety. However, Council’s principle aim is to firstly educate/monitor and work with owners/managers to ensure that aims of the Building Act 2004 are maintained before enforcing penalties.
Abbreviations
| BCA |
Building Consent Authority |
| BWOF |
Building Warrant of Fitness |
| CCC |
Code Compliance Certificate |
| CS |
Compliance Schedule |
| CSS |
Compliance Schedule Statement |
| DBH |
Department of Building and Housing |
| IQP |
Independent Qualified Person |
| LBP |
Licensed Building Practitioner |
| NTF |
Notice to Fix |
| NZBC |
New Zealand Building Code or Building Code or Code |
| TA |
Territorial Authority |
What is a Compliance Schedule?
A compliance Schedule is an inventory of a building’s specified systems issued by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council. The Schedule specifies:
a. Inspection, testing and maintenance procedures
b. The frequency of inspections and who should perform those inspections.
What is a Building Warrant of Fitness?
Building Warrants of Fitness must be renewed annually.
A BWOF verifies that the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures for all the specified systems within a building have been carried out in accordance with the Compliance Schedule for the previous 12 months. It is the owner’s responsibility to have the BWOF completed annually.
The owner must then display a copy of the BWOF in a place in the building where it can be seen and the public have access.
The Council also needs a copy along with certificates called Form 12A's.
Specified Systems under the Building Act 2004
Some property owners may have systems or features on their Compliance Schedule which have been listed under the 2004 Building Act and the previous 1991 Building Act.
Systems listed under the 2004 Building Act include:
| SS1 |
Automatic systems for fire suppression |
| SS2 |
Automatic or manual emergency warning systems |
| SS3 |
Electromagnetic or automatic doors or windows |
|
SS3/1 Automatic doors |
|
SS3/2 Access controlled doors |
|
SS3/3 Interfaced fire or smoke doors or windows |
| SS4 |
Emergency lighting systems |
| SS5 |
Escape route pressurisation systems |
| SS6 |
Riser mains for use by fire services |
| SS7 |
Automatic back-flow preventers |
| SS8 |
Lifts, escalators, travelators, or other systems for moving people or goods within buildings |
|
SS8/1 Passenger carrying lifts |
|
SS8/2 Service lifts |
|
SS8/3 Escalators & moving walkways |
| SS9 |
Mechanical ventilation or air conditioning systems |
| SS10 |
Building maintenance units |
| SS11 |
Laboratory fume cupboards |
| SS12 |
Audio loops or other assistive listening systems |
|
SS12/1 Audio Loops |
|
SS12/2 FM radio frequency systems & infrared beam transmission systems |
| SS13 |
Smoke control systems |
|
SS13/1 Mechanical smoke control |
|
SS13/2 Natural smoke control |
|
SS13/3 Smoke curtains |
| SS14 |
Emergency power systems or signs relating to a system of feature specified in any of clauses 1-13 |
|
SS14/1 Emergency power systems relating to a system of feature specified in any of clauses 1-13 |
|
SS14/2 Signs relating to a system of feature specified in any of clauses 1-13 |
| SS15 |
Other fire safety systems or features |
|
SS15/1 Systems to communicate spoken information intended to facilitate evacuation |
|
SS15/2 Final exits |
|
SS15/3 Fire separations |
|
SS15/4 Signs for communicating information to facilitate evacuation |
|
SS15/5 Smoke separations |
| SS16 |
Cable Cars |
See www.dbh.govt.nz/publications-about-the-building-act-2004 for more information regarding the above systems.
Under the previous 1991 Building Act some compliance schedules may have features like hose reels and safety barriers that require monitoring.
What is an IQP?
IQPs are system specialists. An IQP is a person (or firm) approved by the Territorial Authority (Council) as qualified to inspect certain Compliance Schedule items and ensure that they meet the performance standards. ‘Independent’ means that the person has no financial interest in the building that they are auditing.
A list of approved IQP’s is available at Western Bay of Plenty District Council.
What is a Form 12A?
Form 12A is a form issued by an IQP annually to verify that the inspection, maintenance and reporting procedures on a Compliance Schedule for a specified system have been carried out during the previous 12 months enabling the BWOF to be reissued by owner/owner’s agent.
How IQPs and Compliance Firms can help you
You cannot issue a BWOF without getting the annual IQP checks completed and a certificate (known as a Form 12A) signed off.
You can get an IQP firm or Compliance Company to act as your agent to help out with all the paper work. They will co-ordinate all the specialist IQPs, collect the paper work and issue the BWOF as well as deal with the Council for you.
The Owner’s Responsibility
a. Engage IQP’s that are registered with Western Bay of Plenty District Council
b. Make sure any owner inspections are done by tenants or staff or done by yourself
c. Keep the Compliance Schedule and all records in the place assigned by the Council
d. Keep all records for at least two years For the first year you must display the Compliance Schedule Statement in a public place in the building
e. Every year after that you must:
1. Issue a BWOF
2. Display a copy of the BWOF
Send BWOF and IQP Certificates (Form 12As) to Council
Tenants and the Owner
The building owner’s responsibilities are clear, whether or not the building is tenanted by others. The owner, however, can delegate those responsibilities to an employee of the owner or to someone else under a contract or a lease. Tenants could also be liable where they breach the Act.
An owner, and anyone acting on the owner’s behalf in signing a BWOF, is liable for making any false statement in the warrant.
Council Audits
Building owners should be aware that Council may undertake random audits of owners log books under Section 111 of the Building Act 2004 and charge a fee for an inspection under this section.
Generally Council aims to audit log books at least once every 24 months.
How to apply for a Compliance Schedule
Installation, alteration or removal of a specified system requires a Building Consent, if the system is existing please talk to Council staff.
Penalties
The Building Act 2004 contains a number of provisions to protect public health and safety that are important for building owners and managers. There are a range of penalties for failing to comply with these provisions.
Fees
Fees will be charged for the following:
a. renewal of yearly building warrant of fitness
b. issue of a new compliance schedule
c. amendments to an existing compliance schedule (either adding or removing features)
For current fees, please contact the council.