Building and construction minister Chris Penk. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The building and construction minister is criticising councils for "stopping the clock" on building consent applications, after data showed 64 percent were paused so authorities could request further information.
Annual data published by the Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment shows a total of 146,655 applications were processed, with a median processing time of nine days.
Building consent authorities (usually local or district councils) have a statutory obligation to process consents within 20 working days of receipt.
However, after receiving an application, an authority can make a Request for Further Information (RFI) if essential information is missing. This 'stops the clock' on processing work until the response is received.
The MBIE data showed an estimated 64.3 percent of applications had RFIs. Of those applications, the median time it took applicants to respond was 11.6 working days.
In terms of time from start to finish, applications with an RFI had a median elapsed time of 25 working days.
Building and construction minister Chris Penk said there was a "staggering cost" to the delays.
"Time is money for our tradies, and officials estimate a 12 working day delay because of an RFI could cost around $4000 per dwelling," he said.
"Every unnecessary delay affects real people - builders, businesses, and families waiting for their homes to be completed. That's why this government is pushing ahead with the most significant building consent reforms in a generation."
MBIE's analysis suggested applications with higher building complexity categories were likely to have RFIs, spend longer responding in the RFI stage, and took longer overall to progress.
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