Two licensed building practitioners (LBPs) have been held to account by the Building Practitioners Board for what it says are serious offences.

Christchurch-based Stefan Mortimer has been ordered to pay $1500 and had his licence cancelled for what the board describe as a cavalier attitude towards Building Code compliance.

“Mr Mortimer failed to obtain building consents for two buildings he constructed on land he owned for his family to reside in. These buildings did not comply with the Building Code in terms of structural integrity, amenities or sanitation,” says Registrar LBP scheme Paul Hobbs.

“Mr Mortimer’s offences are at the serious end of the scale, and the board noted that the dangerous and insanitary nature of the building work was an aggravating factor in this case.”

In the other case, Auckland-based Satish Chand has been ordered to pay $2,000 and had his licence cancelled. This is Mr Chand’s third appearance before the board, and his licence has previously been suspended.

Mr Chand made a number of building-related errors which demonstrated a lack of understanding and knowledge of the Building Code and applicable technical standards.

“Mr Chand’s work failed inspection 10 times, and on numerous items. Many involved serious shortcomings relating to weathertightness of the home,” says Mr Hobbs.

“The building inspector noted the work at hand was a simple job but Mr Chand seemed to be out of his depth. Some of the work continued to fail despite remedial work attempted by Mr Chand.

“The LBP scheme requires builders to perform safe, high quality building work that follows the Building Code, including the inspection process. This requirement wasn’t met in these two cases.”