Building Act changes making it easier to build granny flats

Submission: Building Act changes making it easier to build granny flats

In June 2024, the Government indicated its intentions to make it easier to build small, self-contained and detached houses, commonly known as ‘granny flats’ on properties with existing homes on them.

Following this, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and the Ministry for the Environment consulted on proposed changes to enable this.

BRANZ supports the Government’s aim to create more affordable housing options and choice. At the same time, we believe the emphasis should also be on ‘quality’.

This week, we submitted a response to the consultation. This reinforced our support for the outcomes the Government is looking to achieve. However, we believe that what was put forward as a ‘preferred option’ (option 2) carries three key challenges:

1. Lack of third-party checks: The current consenting system provides third-party checks and quality assurance. Removing this system creates opportunities for building or product failure.
2. Increased risk of non-compliant buildings: Without the oversight of Building Consent Authorities (BCAs), there is a higher risk of non-compliant buildings. Although notification requirements and other criteria are proposed to mitigate this risk, it is unclear if these measures will be sufficient to address non-compliance and potential difficulties with finance, insurance, and resale.
3. Responsibility on owners: Option 2 makes owners responsible for ensuring qualified professionals complete the work. However, as no entity would be actively monitoring this requirement, there is a risk of non-compliance.

We believe these challenges could be mitigated by adopting a slightly different approach.

BRANZ suggests that Options 4 or 5 outlined in the consultation document would achieve the desired outcomes and mitigate the risks. These options include targeted promotion campaigns of BuiltReady and MultiProof for standalone dwellings up to 60 square metres, and new MBIE/Government MultiProof approval for a 60 square metre standalone dwelling.

We are open to working with MBIE and sharing our research and expertise to help achieve the ambitions of the proposed changes.

We welcome further discussion with MBIE on ways we can assist.