(PR.co.nz) Confidence among consumers and accountability among builders are at the heart of moves to get more tradespeople licensed in Canterbury.
Tomorrow the Department of Building and Housing will host a licensing expo at Christchurch Boys’ High School between 9am and 5pm aiming to further increase the number of licensed builders rebuilding Canterbury.
Building and Construction Minister Maurice Williamson is right behind the push. “For owners, using Licensed Building Practitioners means confidence that homes will be repaired right first time,” he said.
The Licensed Building Practitioners scheme is one of the changes in the Building Act 2004 to encourage better building design and construction.
Since the quake, nearly 1100 builders, designers and tradespeople have been licensed, or have applications in progress in Canterbury. That’s a huge boost from about 165 that were licensed before the quake.
Applications have been received at licensing clinics held around the region.
“This Saturday presents an opportunity to push that number even higher, so we have the right people on the ground as demand for quality builders increases.”
The Government wants to see 1600 licensed issues by the end of November.
“The upswing in the number of people licensed to carry out essential building work means that people are going to be able to get back into their homes faster, and can be confident about quality workmanship.”
For more information, builders can contact 0800 60 60 50 during business hours.
Media Release 5 November 2010 from Maurice Williamson, Minister of Building and Construction.