A suspended building practitioner has been convicted and fined $10,000 plus court costs after doing restricted building work without licence or supervision.
The Building Act 2004 required all restricted building work, which included design and construction affecting a primary structure, to be done or supervised by a Licensed Building Practitioner (LBP).
Lucy Walsh's LBP licence had been suspended since September 30, 2021 for non-compliance.
When applying for building consent for a small dwelling in Central Otago, Walsh falsely claimed to be an LBP in the Certificate of Design Work, and used her employer's LPB number and electronic signature without permission.
The Central Otago District Council raised concerns with her employer when processing the consent.
The employer had no knowledge of the project, didn't supervise it, and didn't give permission for the use of their LBP details.
Registrar of Licensed Building Practitioners Duncan Connor called Walsh's actions a "clear breach of professional trust" and urged homeowners to do their due diligence before hiring.
“The Court’s $10,000 fine reflects the seriousness of this conduct. Practitioners must keep their licence current, and consumers should always check the LBP Public Register before engaging anyone to do restricted building work,” he said.
Walsh was convicted on August 28 of forgery, carrying out restricted building work while not licensed or supervised by an LBP, and for making a false or misleading statement.
Judge Dominic Flatley considered community detention, but decided the significant fine was appropriate.
The LPB scheme was introduced in 2007 to make sure only qualified professionals carry out work that affects the structure or weathertightness of residential buildings, according to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.
Unlicenced or unsupervised work could lead to "serious compliance failures and costly problems."
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