Building Act 2004

4 Principles to be applied in performing functions or duties, or exercising powers, under this Act

• (1) This section applies to—

  • (a) the Minister; and

  • (b) the chief executive; and

  • (c) a territorial authority or regional authority (but only to the extent that the territorial authority or regional authority is performing functions or duties, or exercising powers, in relation to the grant of waivers or modifications of the building code and the adoption and review of policy on dangerous, earthquake-prone, and insanitary buildings or, as the case may be, dangerous dams).

  (2) In achieving the purpose of this Act, a person to whom this section applies must take into account the following principles that are relevant to the performance of functions or duties imposed, or the exercise of powers conferred, on that person by this Act:

  • (a) when dealing with any matter relating to 1 or more household units,—

    • (i) the role that household units play in the lives of the people who use them, and the importance of—

      • (A) the building code as it relates to household units; and

      • (B) the need to ensure that household units comply with the building code:

    • (ii) the need to ensure that maintenance requirements of household units are reasonable:

    • (iii) the desirability of ensuring that owners of household units are aware of the maintenance requirements of their household units:

  • (b) the need to ensure that any harmful effect on human health resulting from the use of particular building methods or products or of a particular building design, or from building work, is prevented or minimised:

  • (c) the importance of ensuring that each building is durable for its intended use:

  • (d) the importance of recognising any special traditional and cultural aspects of the intended use of a building:

  • (e) the costs of a building (including maintenance) over the whole of its life:

  • (f) the importance of standards of building design and construction in achieving compliance with the building code:

  • (g) the importance of allowing for continuing innovation in methods of building design and construction:

  • (h) the reasonable expectations of a person who is authorised by law to enter a building to undertake rescue operations or firefighting to be protected from injury or illness when doing so:

  • (i) the need to provide protection to limit the extent and effects of the spread of fire, particularly with regard to—

    • (i) household units (whether on the same land or on other property); and

    • (ii) other property:

  • (j) the need to provide for the protection of other property from physical damage resulting from the construction, use, and demolition of a building:

  • (k) the need to provide, both to and within buildings to which section 118 applies, facilities that ensure that reasonable and adequate provision is made for persons with disabilities to enter and carry out normal activities and processes in a building:

  • (l) the need to facilitate the preservation of buildings of significant cultural, historical, or heritage value:

  • (m) the need to facilitate the efficient use of energy and energy conservation and the use of renewable sources of energy in buildings:

  • (n) the need to facilitate the efficient and sustainable use in buildings of—

    • (i) materials (including materials that promote or support human health); and

    • (ii) material conservation:

  • (o) the need to facilitate the efficient use of water and water conservation in buildings:

  • (p) the need to facilitate the reduction in the generation of waste during the construction process.

  • (q) the need to ensure that owners, designers, builders, and building consent authorities are each accountable for their role in ensuring that—

    • (i) the necessary building consents and other approvals are obtained for proposed building work; and

    • (ii) plans and specifications are sufficient to result in building work that (if built to those plans and specifications) complies with the building code; and

    • (iii) building work for which a building consent is issued complies with that building consent; and

    • (iv) building work for which a building consent is not required complies with the building code.

  Compare: 1991 No 150 s 6(2)

  Section 4(2)(k): amended, on 15 March 2008, by section 5 of the Building Amendment Act 2008 (2008 No 4).

  Section 4(2)(q): inserted, on 13 March 2012, by section 5 of the Building Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 23).